Costs of Treatment

ANTINEOPLASTON THERAPY

The following are the services included in the monthly case management fee. Keep in mind that most patients have failed conventional therapies and are in the final stages of cancer.  Thus, they require a great deal of medical care and follow-up.

Intensive monitoring of patient status by a registered  nurse working under the supervision of a physician.
Physician supervision and management of the treatment protocol, as required to address patients' medical needs.
IV supplies for pump and catheter care for 30 days, including dressings, IV bags, cartridges, needles, tubing, alcohol wipes, batteries, etc.
Making dosage changes and writing pump programs as dosage changes are made.
Non–face-to-face infusion supervision.
Access 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week to medical personnel to address emergencies.
Telephone conferences with other health care professionals, eg, the patient’s local physician.
Writing prescriptions, calling out-of-state pharmacies, and follow-up.
Team conferences with the nurse, associate physician, co-investigator, and senior physician.
Complex and lengthy communications to coordinate services with radiologists, pathologists, physicians, home health care providers, private nurses, physical therapists, and so on.
Reviewing laboratory diagnostic test results.
Reading and interpreting MRI, CT, or PET scans, making detailed tumor measurements, and writing reports for these tests.
Detailed adverse drug reaction monitoring.
Writing a weekly progress report for each patient.
Writing a detailed monthly progress report for each patient.
Compilation of dictated reports, laboratory and radiologic findings, progress notes, flow sheets, and other data to maintain maximum quality care for each patient.
Monthly prolonged follow-up visit.

Also keep in mind that the task of record-keeping for all patients, those in clinical trials and those with Special Exception" status, is huge because FDA-approved rules and regulations must be adhered to.

TRADITIONAL MEDICAL CARE

To keep the cost of antineoplaston therapy in perspective, compare the costs of medical care in general. Here are examples from one patient who lives in a major US city. The bills are for cancer surgery.

One day of room and board in a semiprivate room at a major teaching hospital costs $1,438.
12 hours in the recovery room cost $2,895, or $5,800 a day.
7 hours in the OR cost $24,000, which does not include anesthesia or surgeon’s fees.
Anesthesia costs for 7 hours are $7,078, or $1,000 per hour.
2 days in intensive care cost $5,292.
An EKG in the hospital cost $366; insurance pays $157.  An outpatient EKG costs $45, and insurance pays $17.
Inserting a Hickman catheter costs $7,256 of which insurance pays $3,100. The procedure requires an all-day stay. In Houston, the same procedure cost $960 and takes 15 minutes.
A cardiac catheterization costs $5,609 and takes 30 minutes. The hospital room costs $1,880 a day.
A 2.5-mL injection of sodium chloride, that is sterile salt solution, costs $28.
A recent report on a television news magazine showed that one hospital charged $18 for one Tylenol pill that was purchased for two cents.

These tremendous cost increases are called cost-shifting, which is a common, widespread practice in hospitals. In simple terms, the patient with insurance pays for those without.