How Much Does Chemotherapy Cost in the Philippines?
A single chemotherapy session in the Philippines typically starts at around ₱20,000, and can reach ₱1,000,000 or more for a full treatment cycle, depending on the cancer type, drug, and regimen prescribed by your oncologist. Below are 4 ways to lower this cost, including switching to generic cancer medicines — plus how to get a price quote from Getmeds.
As stated in an article posted on JCO Global Oncology, just the cost of a single chemotherapy session starts at PHP 20,000, an intimidating sum of money already. It can even go as high as PHP 1,000,000 — the same cost as a treatment cycle of breast cancer with the drug Trastuzumab.
Valerie Ulep, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), shares that patients still cover a large portion of their inpatient cancer treatments despite getting financial protection from PhilHealth. This applies the same for outpatient visits, though what they pay for isn’t as big, only about 29% of the direct costs that includes treatment costs, hospital charges, laboratory costs, and drug costs.
Why Does Chemotherapy Cost Vary in the Philippines?
The price of chemotherapy depends on several factors: the type and stage of cancer, the specific drug or combination of drugs prescribed, whether the drug is a branded originator or a generic equivalent, how many sessions are needed, and whether treatment is done in a public or private hospital. This is why getting a direct price quote for your prescribed medicine, rather than relying on a general estimate, gives you the clearest picture of your actual cost.
How Can the High Cost of Cancer Treatments Affect Patients and Their Families?
Making sufficient income is already hard for monetarily challenged individuals. Most families have a difficult time managing their expenses due to the other bills they have to remember and monitor. Not every household has the means to be able to pay for their other financial obligations while allotting plenty of money for cancer treatments.
According to the American Cancer Society, patients and their families can experience the following when dealing with the high cost of cancer treatments:
- Inability to meet daily living expenses
- The dilemma of choosing to pay for cancer treatments or other household expenses
- Delaying medical care for themselves or other family members
- Not getting their prescriptions refilled regularly
- Spending all or majority of their savings on cancer treatments
- Adding more to any existing debt
Though these decisions are made with the intention of improving one’s health, it can have a negative impact both physically and emotionally.
The National Cancer Institute further shares that people who live through the financial burden that cancer treatment brings may have a lower quality of life. They may be subjected to:
- More symptoms
- More pain
- More distress
- Poor physical health
- Poor mental health
- Feeling unsatisfied with social activities and relationships
- Worry due to the fear that their cancer might come back
4 Ways to Reduce the Cost of Cancer Treatment in the Philippines
1. Ask for Help
Seek help from your family, relatives, friends, community, and the government. There are several institutions in the Philippines that give financial assistance to cancer treatments. The ICanServe Foundation mentions a few:
- Malasakit Center
- PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation)
- PCSO or Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s Medical Access Program (MAP)
- DSWD Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS)
- DOH Cancer Support and Palliative Medicine Access Program (CSPMAP)
- Public Assistance Center (Online Medical Assistance) through the Senate of the Philippines
- Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Cancer Institute (CI)
- SSS (Social Security System)
Also look for NGOs, foundations, and charity organizations that are willing to offer help to cancer patients.
2. Know the Health Insurance Options for Cancer Patients in the Philippines
Be aware of the health insurance options for cancer patients and make sure to maximize the benefits that accompany it. If you don’t have any insurance yet, you can try to get coverage for medical expenses. PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation), one of our state insurers, has established the Z Benefit package that can cover up to PHP 1.4 million for breast cancer patients in 18 hospitals nationwide — with two being in Metro Manila, namely: East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City and Philippine General Hospital in Manila.
3. Choose Flexible Payment Terms
Have a conversation with your doctor about flexible payment terms. This means you can pay for your hospital bills via installments or any period of time. There are hospitals or clinics that have payment schemes which can lessen your expenses.
4. Switch to Generic Cancer Drugs
What are generic cancer drugs? These are prescribed drugs that are essentially identical to their branded medicine counterpart. They contain the same active-ingredient formula and are as effective as brand-name drugs — only thing is that generic drugs are priced lower, thus can cut down the dues you already spend for chemotherapy and other treatments.
Getmeds supplies FDA-registered generic cancer medicines and chemotherapy drugs — tablets, capsules, injections, and infusion vials — for breast cancer, lung cancer, leukemia, ovarian cancer, and other cancer types, often at a lower cost than the originator brand.
Send an inquiry with your prescription for an official price quote, and ask about our Patient Assistance Program if you have a guarantee letter from DSWD, PCSO, the Office of the President, or the Office of the Vice President.
Get a price quote → Get a price quote
Learn about the Patient Assistance Program → Ask for Medicine Assistance