It should not be a great surprise to any of us, but a recently published study in the August issue of Archives of Internal Medicine concluded that there are significant gaps between what doctors think their patients know and what patients say they know! The study consisted of a survey of 89 patients and 43 [...]
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the U.S. agency in charge of Medicare, announced yesterday that it has scheduled a meeting to discuss the coverage of Dendreon’s prostate cancer vaccine Provenge. The meeting has been scheduled for this November 17. […]
The Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), a national non-profit has announced that it has received a substantial contribution which will provide additional funding support for prostate cancer patients through its Co-Pay Relief Program (CPR). […]
When you are diagnosed with cancer one of the hurdles you might face is a financial one. Bills can accumulate quickly so it might be a good idea to seek financial help early on after being diagnosed. […]
A member of the advanced prostate cancer on-line support group who is the wife of an advanced prostate cancer survivor in New Mexico just informed us that Trailblazer (the MAC that controls New Mexico reimbursements for Medicare and Medicaid) has said they will not pay for her husband to get Provenge. They were also told [...]
Sanofi-aventis, the pharmaceutical company that makes taxotere and the newly approved drug, Jevtana (cabazitaxel) yesterday announced that their newly approved treatment for men with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer (mHRPC) who have been previously treated with a docetaxel-based treatment regimen and failed is finally available for distribution in the United States. Around one month ago, Jevtana [...]
There has been a lot of questions raised about why the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has out of the clear blue, launched a review of Provenge, a review that could ultimately make Provenge unavailable to men on Medicare and Medicaid (see the post:Medicare Funding for Provenge, We Urgently Need Your HELP). There [...]
Those of us advanced prostate cancer survivors who are younger than 65 years and who live in the United States often face a major dilemma if we are unable to continue to work. Medicare will not provide us with medical insurance until we reach that magic age of 65 years. We can apply for social [...]
It is true; life does come to an end. Dying and of course birth are the commonality we all will experience. Since we have already been born and since you are reading this you have not yet died. Therefore, it is in all of our best interests to find a way to insure that all [...]
My post of July 9, 2009, "Will Provenge or Any Treatment for Advanced Prostate Cancer Survive Health Reform?" has caused my mailbox to become full of a number of emails both damming my concern about health care reform and supporting the concern. The negative responses have ranged from calling me selfish to being a tool [...]
