Saturday, September 08, 2007

Canada's two tiered health system


Some Ontario hospitals Cancer are charging patients from $16,000 to $24,000 for a treatment of Abraxane in order to gain access to that and other new and effective cancer drugs that their oncologists recommend. Health Canada has approved these drugs but the provincial governments have not to avoid having to fund treatment. Many are currently under review in Ontario.

One of these drugs is Abraxane, that's the trial drug Pace received that shrunk her tumour from the size of a peach to the size of a pea. It was formerly used only to treat breast cancer in metastasis. It's now been found effective for local cancer as well. A course of treatment easily ranges into the tens of thousands of dollars. It is sometimes funded by hospitals but it is really a case-by-case basis.

In a country that professes standards of healthcare and access of healthcare for all, it is scary that the best drugs are available to those with generous insurance plans or people with the financial assets to drop tens of thousands on drugs and health care.

The only other option is to be a test subject, hope dodge the bullet of a rogue effect and see if the new drug is really that effective.

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