How to Reduce Cost of Cancer Treatment in The Philippines

The high cost of cancer treatments in the Philippines is the reason why cancer patients and their families continue to face financial difficulties. As cancer is a condition that needs long-term medical attention, it can be troubling to maintain and keep up with, especially with the expensive prices of its treatments.

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.

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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

What are the Ways to Reduce the Cost of Cancer Treatment in the Philippines?

As it’s been made apparent how the high monetary demands of cancer care can have a significant effect on a patient’s overall health, as well as their family members’, we should be aware of the steps we can take in order to make these treatments more affordable on our end.

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.

Know the Health Insurance Options for Cancer Patients in 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.

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.

Switch to Generic Cancer Drugs

What are generic cancer drugs? These are prescribed drugs that are essentially identical to its 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 Philippines Incorporated is an online pharmacy that offers a broad selection of cancer care products that are FDA Approved budget-friendly and of quality. They have tablets, capsules, injection solutions, powder for injections, etc. that can help with the treatment of various types of cancer like breast cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, and ovarian cancer among the few.

Whether it be prescribed cancer medicine or OTC products, Getmeds’ affordable medicine prices can be a great help in cost-saving. Most of all, it reduces the chances of experiencing financial struggles as you undergo cancer treatments.

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