Chemo Gangsters

8/16/07

“The growth of large business is merely the survival of the fittest.”

-- John D. Rockefeller

“What is a man if he is not a thief who openly charges as much as he can for the goods he sells?”
-- M. K. Ghandi
Non-Violence in Peace and War, 1948

Dear Dr. Ahmed: FYI

Here’s the way the numbers are juggled (I’m sure the insurance companies/pharmaceutical lobbies/ corporate greed have nothing to do with this):

“Oncologists (cancer doctors) have financial incentives to use drugs other than Bexxar, which they are not paid to administer.”
“At least half the patients who get referred to me (Dr. Oliver W. Press) have had least 10 courses of treatment.”
“Both drugs (Zevalin and Bexxar) are very expensive, costing about $25,000 per treatment. But one dose is usually sufficient.”
“Because lymphoma is relatively common, and Rituxan costs $20,000 for a typical COURSE OF TREATMENT, it is the top selling cancer drug in the world.”

All quotes above are from the July 14, 2007 Times article

BULLSHIT!

A course of treatment with Rituxan includes a minimum of 6 infusions over an 18 week period. I received the bill for the first of the 6. The total bill was $14,097.59. The Rituxan portion of the bill was $11,768.51.

6 times 11,768.51 equals $70,611.06.

Twenty grand vs: seventy grand, do the math. Is it any wonder the drug companies don’t like Bexxar?

Best – Randy Tessier

P.S. Hi Dr. Ahmed, I’m doing splendidly!