Costs & Treatment for Lung Cancer

According to radiologyinfo.org, approximately one-third of the patients diagnosed with lung cancer are treated by surgery. However, when the disease spreads to other body parts, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are also used along with surgery.

Cost

• Cost of lung cancer treatment is calculated on a case-specific basis. Health, age and medical history are important while determining the final figure.

US Annual Spending

• According to Science Daily issued in 2007, the US expenditure on detection and treatment of lung cancer exceeds five billion dollars every year.

Drug Cost

• According to Wall Street Journal, one of the primary lung cancer drugs is Erbitux, which prolongs life by just 1.2 months. As of 2009, the drug costs almost $80,000 for an 18-week course.

Radiation

• Radiotherapy involves high-energy x-rays, which destroy the cancer cells. It is sometimes used as primary treatment or after surgery for eliminating the leftover cancer cells. Radiation therapy is costly. The exact cost depends on the healthcare costs of the area. It is usually covered by insurance companies.

Chemotherapy

• This involves toxic drugs that kill cancer cells. This treatment can be used in all stages of lung cancer. The total expense of chemotherapy throughout the treatment can cost around $40,000.

Considerations

• According to surgery.com, drug therapies and chemotherapy tend to be much more expensive among all treatment types.