Cancer is very expensive to treat. Why are there 1000's in the US deciding against treatment because of cost?

Answer 1

Curing cancer does not cost a arm and a leg if you do it with alternative treatments, they are safer and work better than orthodox treatments anyway. Plus most people live a happier life not going through Chemo, it is one of those cases where the cure is worse than the disease. Check the site below to find out why, read the free e-book to get mad!

Answer 2

Cancer is very expensive to treat - and our medical system is somewhat flawed in that the hospitals charge a tremendous amount for these services and yet most people could never afford to pay for them without insurance. Even with the insurance, the costs are astromonical and sometimes completely destroy a family's savings, income and future. Granted - the cancer can be stopped and the person can perhaps live a normal life after that. But I believe that our country's priorities are a bit off - why don't we have free health care instead of GIVING billions of dollars to other countries? Why are we spending BILLIONS trying to help Iraq when our country is in such a mess? Why do we pay MILLIONS to sports players when we have children starving on the streets? So yes, cancer is expensive and there are people dying every day because of not having enough money to pay for the treatment - people are losing mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and other family members to the disease. Do you see a problem with this scenario?

Answer 3

Because life-saving drugs are very expensive to develop. A starting salery for a PhD biochemist or pharmacologist is in the $100k+ range, and there are usually several working on the problem for several years.
You can't really blame the PhD's though, because they had to go to school for about 10 years after high school and have not been able to work. They have tremendous debt. Plus, would you go to school for 8 years and study your butt of just for fun??? Medical school and PhD programs cost a small fortune.
But you can't really blame the PhD programs either, because they want to hire the best professors, who also happen to be PhDs. This costs money. So, I guess we should blame the PhDs that teach at medical institutions for charging so much. But, then again, they are usually the best in their field, which is why they were chosen to teach doctors.

(Not to mention the fact that tons of medical equpiment is used in the manufacture of the drugs - petri dishes, media, chemicals, etc.)

Answer 4

They really don't have to make a decision if cost is the factor. If they don't have the money or insurance for the treatment then how can they decide to have it. More needs to be done for people with no health coverage. It is a sad statement on our Society when we let people die because they can't afford to seek treatment for Illness. How will we be judged!

Answer 5

How can you have treatment if you can't afford it and you have no means of getting financial help??

Those thousands of people who decide against treatment do so not by choice but by circumstance.

That is why I believe in universal healthcare (ie Canada). Life should not have a cost associated with it.

Answer 6

Most people in the US are only once medical crisis away from bankruptcy and 46 million citizens and who knows how many illegal aliens have zero health insurance. How can America fix this? tax cuts for the very wealthy and eliminate the estate tax so that when you are living in your old truck under the bridge you won't have to worry about your heirs having to pay estate taxes when they inherit your old truck after your passing.

Answer 7

It is a hard question to answer. You think you would at least try to do something to save your own life. I think loosing all your money is not even close to how bad dying would be....Not only for you, but your family to.......

Answer 8

Because healthcare has become yet another big American corporation.