The cost of life-saving cancer therapies keeps rising, and patients often find themselves in serious financial difficulties, adding significant stress to an already stressful situation. The only silver lining in this conundrum is that financial assistance is available to many patients, regardless of their health insurance status.
Most pharmaceutical companies today are providing financial assistance for their cancer drugs, and many nonprofit foundations and advocacy organizations also provide direct help to patients with cancer, so that they could focus on their treatment without the extra anxiety of paying for their treatment.
As in previous years, this 2022 Patient Guide to Cancer Support Services provides specific information on how to get financial assistance for your specific medications. This Guide is provided to you by CONQUER: the patient voice, to help you find assistance in paying for the treatment you need.
If you don’t have health insurance, you will often be able to receive these cancer drugs for free. If you do have some insurance coverage, the drug company will usually pay your copay, co-insurance, or deductible, so your monthly cost for the drug will often be $0 or $5. In addition, many nonprofit organizations offer financial help, as listed in this Guide. Some will also pay for other expenses, such as travel to a cancer clinic or hospital, hotel stays during treatment, and more.
This Guide is organized by cancer type, listing the drugs prescribed for each type of cancer, so you could go directly to the section that is relevant to you to find your specific therapies and the financial assistance provided for your treatment. Each section in this Guide lists information about financial assistance programs available for each drug, and how to contact those programs get the help you need.
So, look for the drug, or drugs, you are now using to find out what help is available, and how to contact the relevant programs so they could help you pay for your medications. Your doctor will often have to fill out some forms as well, so don’t hesitate to ask for help with the forms.
Cancer centers and clinics often have financial counselors and nurse navigators who can help you find the right financial support program for you or even fill out the necessary paperwork. If your center does not have up-to-date information, show them this Guide and ask for help in applying for financial assistance.
Become familiar with this Guide so you can get the treatment you need to achieve the best result possible. Bring this Guide to your next appointment and ask for help in applying for financial assistance.
We created this Guide to help remove the financial barrier from your cancer care, so that you can get the treatment you need, with one less thing to worry about.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This Guide is based on information posted online by the respective drug companies as of December 10, 2021. Every effort has been made to verify that the information is up to date. Any updates, including new indications or drugs approved after that date, will not appear in this publication. The Publisher and the Editors are not responsible for any inaccuracies stemming from such changes or changes to the support services made later on. Readers are advised to review the information online, using the web address provided for each drug for any updates and revisions.