Louise is a breast cancer survivor. But the cure took her life savings.Read about Louise’s experience without Right Choice Critical Illness Insurance. Louise was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 33.Because her family has a history of breast cancer, Louise began having annual breast exams at 25. When she was 33, her doctor found a suspicious mass in her right breast.Louise’s mother died of cancer at 51 and she is not close to her father. Louise is separated, with a son age 7 and a daughter 5. Knowing that this was the way it started for her mother, Louise wanted to get on with it. However, she was stunned by the wait times involved. Her mammogram took 6 weeks to schedule and another 10 days to read. The next test, a needle biopsy 2 weeks later, was inconclusive. To be sure, Louise needed a core biopsy which was another 2-week wait. In all, nearly 3 months passed since Louise’s breast exam. Fearful and anxious, Louise tried to keep life normal for her children, but often found herself overwhelmed with the thought that she may not be around to see them grow up. The core biopsy confirmed that Louise needed surgery. She had a lumpectomy 4 weeks after her doctor reviewed the core biopsy results. Two weeks after surgery, Louise met with the oncologist to plan follow-up chemotherapy. Louise’s doctor told her about the drugs listed on the provincial formulary and available without cost. At Louise’s insistence, she also wrote down the names of newer medications not on formulary. These had fewer side effects and showed promise of greater effectiveness. She went online to read about the newer meds, and gain a better understanding of her options. One drug in particular seemed the way to go, but Louise wasn’t prepared for the cost. The chemotherapy drug Louise chose was $23,000 for a 6-month treatment. Louise had $14,000 in RRSPs and another $6,200 in RESPs for her children. She cashed them both and scraped together the rest of the money for her treatment and the taxes on her collapsed savings. Three years later, she is cancer-free.She is one of the few Canadians who discover that the best drugs are not part of their provincial plan. Most people never learn of all the options they have. Louise’s story is a composite of many factual patient case histories. |
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