Filed under: Cancer Survivors Here's what might be a typical train of thought for someone surviving cancer. That someone, in this case, is me. I have been getting sicker and sicker for the past three days. Sore throat, sore ears, and a heavy head made me think at first it was some sort of sinus issue. Add a cough, a rumbling and painful chest, sore gums, chills and sweats, and a fever roaring past 102.8 and the worries start rolling in. I feel like I did twice before, just before I was admitted to the hospital with dipping white blood counts. The worst of it hit Friday night and since I just couldn't make myself sit in the ER for hours on end, I overstepped my boundaries, tracked down my hospital's on-call oncologist, and listed off my symptoms. Since my treatment for breast cancer concluded one year ago, the doctor wasn't worried. He called it an infection and called me in a prescription. In a few days, when my course of antibiotics run out, I should be fine. Kris Carr said in her documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer , "Is a cough ever just a cough?" For someone surviving cancer, like me: No. It's is always something else first. Only after a little panic does it usually turn out to be just a cough.

Filed under: All Cancers , Daily news Health care is expensive, even for those with insurance. My treatment with the breast cancer drug Herceptin cost $5,000 every three weeks for 52 weeks. Insurance paid 80 percent; I was responsible for 20. That's $1,000 every three weeks. Not exactly affordable. What many of us don't know is that we can play an active role in cutting our health care bills. We can shop around for everything, for example. Before filling a prescription, consider comparing prices offered at mail-order and online pharmacies with those of larger retailers. You may even find that mom and pop shops offer competitive rates since they can set their own pricing. Don't forget about generic drugs too. Ask your doctor if a generic version of your medication is just as good as a brand name drug. If so, go for the price break. Did you know that lab work is more expensive if you get it at a hospital? Ask your doctor for other trustworthy locations and save a few bucks. Always ask for itemized medical bills. Read them carefully. Eight out of 10 hospital bills contain errors, so you're likely to find some. If you find something isn't right, be aggressive in your pursuit of the mistake. Go to the billing department -- in person if you can -- and keep at your complaint until it's appropriately addressed. Keep talking to supervisors until you are satisfied. Document everything. It pays to ask for discounts. Next time you see your doctor, ask if he or she can charge you a less expensive rate or at least help you negotiate one. You might be surprised when your doctor agrees. You might also ask to receive a discount in exchange for paying cash up front. In a world of skyrocketing medical costs, try these tips for taking matters into your own hands.

Filed under: Drug , Products , Daily news Two months ago, Wal-Mart launched its $4 dollar generic prescription drug program in Tampa, Florida. Two weeks ago, the program was expanded to include all Wal-Mart and Sam's Club pharmacies in 14 additional states -- Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Vermont. 314 generic prescription drugs, accounting for 25 percent of prescriptions it currently dispenses in its pharmacies nationwide, are available under the $4 dollar program. For those with health insurance, the typical co-pay for the 314 generic drugs in Wal-Mart's $4 dollar generic prescription drug program cost between $5 dollars and $10 dollars. While the savings might not seem like much for people with health insurance, the co-payments can add up each month. For those on limited incomes, any savings is welcome relief. For the 46 million uninsured patients who live in one of the 15 states where this program is available, the savings can amount to much more, and may be one of the few times they have been offered a break when it comes to medical costs. The generic drug list is available as a PDF document here . Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Drug , Prevention , Products , Daily news Prescription drugs purchased online from Canadian pharmacies were intercepted before they reached the US, and after preliminary laboratory tests were found to be counterfeit. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers who may have obtained prescription drugs from Mediplan Prescription Plus Pharmacy or Mediplan Global Health in Manitoba, Canada not to take the medication as it may not be safe. The drugs in question are Lipitor, Diovan, Actonel, Nexium, Hyzaar, Ezetrol or Zetia, Crestor, Celebrex, Arimidex, and Propecia. Most of the drugs are prescribed for cholesterol disorders and high blood pressure; Actonel for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women; Nexium for gastroesophageal reflux disease; Celebrex for arthritis-related pain; Propecia for male-pattern baldness and Arimidex is a breast cancer chemoprevention medication. Interestingly, the FDA conducted an investigation last year and discovered that nearly half of the imported drugs they confiscated from four selected countries were shipped to fill orders that consumers believed they were placing with Canadian pharmacies. The drugs did not come from Canada. According to the FDA, 85 percent actually came from 27 other countries around the globe. Buyer beware. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Prevention , Politics , Daily news Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a ban on over-the-counter (OTC) sales of skin-lightening products containing hydroquinone. Hydroquinone is found in skin bleaching products used primarily for lightening age spots, skin discoloration from years of excess tanning or dark under-eye circles. Research has indicated a possible link to increased cancers. In the US, there are over 65 companies selling more than 200 skin-bleaching products that contain hydroquinone. Hydroquinone has been banned in Japan, the European Union and Australia. The FDA now wants all OTC and prescription skin-lightening products containing hydroquinone to be classified as new drugs and companies making the skin-bleaching products would need to seek FDA approval to sell them. Likely, the products would stop being available as an OTC product. The proposed ban means that the FDA will take public comments until the end of this year before making any final action. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Drug Maybe I have been weaving my way through the web for too many years that shades my perspective cynical and jaded but there are few internet destinations I trust outright. Certainly not when it comes to purchasing drugs. Questions of purity, reliability of ingredients and quality immediately come to mind. Equally at issue is the folly of self diagnosis and self prescribing medications for self described illness or malady. UK doctors have reported that a woman, who diagnosed herself with chronic fatigue syndrome and, on the advice of a neighbor, bought oral steroids from an online pharmacy in Thailand, is going blind as a result of the drugs she took. Dr. Philip Severn and Dr. Scott Frase are quoted as saying, "Some of the drug therapies can be counterfeit and contain a concoction of compounds that bear little resemblance to the drug named on the bottle. Even if the patient receives the actual drug, there are many problems with this unchecked availability, including interactions with coexisting treatment, side effects and the lack of careful medical monitoring." I understand some of the growing frustration towards mainstream medicine. Doctors are human, some are better at being human than others and some will care for you in a more competent and caring manner than others in the same profession. Some doctors even make outrageous mistakes. But I would suggest anyone self diagnosing and self medicating based on a self diagnosis, to consider the fact that doctors spend years in medical training and are distinctly more qualified to properly diagnose disease and make informed decisions to the proper medications needed for that disease. The internet has provided a phenomenal opportunity in the ability to research disease and the different treatments available -- and to buy drugs with little restriction and enforceable regulation. But without collaborating with an educated doctor as to your findings before ordering drugs off the internet is risky business. You don't know what you are buying. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Drug , All Cancers , Services NeedyMeds is a pharmaceutical prescription assistance programs resource guide for people who need help with the cost of medicine and other healthcare expenses. Founded in 1997 by a physician and home health social worker, NeedyMeds is an established and comprehensive online patient assistance programs database featuring over 350 different companies and programs offering more than 2600 different drugs and describes 200 state programs for low-income patients who might not be able to afford medications. According to NeedyMeds , the website, which now averages 6,500 visitors each day and will soon reach a hallmark of seven million visitors in total, continues to add new programs such as Assistance for Specific Diseases and Conditions, Application Assistance, State Sponsored Programs and Medicaid Sites. I cannot personally vouch for NeedyMeds , as I have not used them as a resource, but I am always on the look out for resources that might be of benefit to our readers. If you are in need of assistance in affording your medications, visit the NeedyMeds online guide and database. If you do use them, come back and let us know your experiences with NeedyMeds. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Drug , All Cancers , Daily news The world is a dangerous place for the trusting and the innocent -- which is probably one of the reasons we have some of the laws we do to protect everyone. Still, even with laws in place, it seems we are not all that safe. Frankly, I am disturbed by what I learned that I did not know about prescription drugs being dispensed in this country and the estimated number of those prescriptions that are counterfeit drugs. Drugs of ineffective strength. Drugs made with unknown chemicals. Drugs switched with less expensive drugs meant for another medical condition. Basically -- the wrong drugs. Until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, announced it was taking steps to strengthen existing protections against the growing problem of counterfeit drugs , I did not know there was a problem. I venture to guess most law-abiding citizens who go the pharmacy with a physician's prescription did not know they could be receiving the same kind of drugs bought illegally on the street. Tainted. Cut with unknown properties. Or a drug that is different than the drug you set out to purchase. With illegal drugs you know the chances you take when you deal with shady people. Who would expect going to the local pharmacy might be no different than visiting the dimly-lit alleyways of street drug deals. Why is the FDA beefing up the protections already in place to ensure that the legal drugs dispensed at the pharmacy are safe from counterfeit drugs? According to Counterfeit Drug Task Force, "We must remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure our nation's drug supply is protected against an increasingly sophisticated criminal element engaging in a dangerous type of commerce." Means there is a problem. Legitimate prescription drugs are being diverted and replaced with counterfeit drugs of unknown quality and origin. Your pharmacist is receiving the counterfeit drugs instead of the drugs they believe they are getting shipped to them. You are taking the presciption home in a little bottle labeled with instructions on how often to take the drug. But you are not taking what your pharmacist and you think you are taking to treat your medical condition or illness. The FDA calls it a growing problem. I did not even know there was a problem. Did you? Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Childhood Cancers , Leukemia , Chemotherapy , Blood Cancer , Stem Cell I was hospitalized twice last year for chemo-induced fever and low blood counts. My first stay came at a busy time -- the hospital's oncology floor was full and there was no space for me. So I was admitted to the bone marrow transplant unit as an overflow patient and suddenly -- even in my very sick and compromised state -- I became the healthiest person on the floor. My white blood count was 700 -- sounded pretty bad to me -- but some of the patients staying on this floor with me had no blood counts because in order to receive a transplant, their own bone marrow is completely depleted in order to prepare for new bone marrow. Patients on this floor are considered pretty healthy when their counts reach 500. I was considered sick and was hospitalized at 700. Adults and children on this floor stay in rooms behind glass panels and with special -- and loud -- air flow systems that push germs out of the room. Visitors must wear gowns and shoe covers and must wash their hands before entering the rooms. Patients might stay on this floor for months at a time, receiving chemotherapy and preparing for their eventual bone marrow transplants. Some patient rooms are decorated and arranged just like home. Parents prepare rooms for children with play areas and craft areas and television areas. This floor is home to many sick children -- and this is what affected me most. For my five days on the bone marrow transplant unit, I gained an up-close and personal look at what many parents and children encounter when cancer derails their lives. It was so much more than I had to encounter. It must be quite an undertaking to prepare a child for this experience. I picked up a coloring book the day I was discharged and walked off this floor and back into my own life. It's a coloring book that comes from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and is made by bone marrow transplant patients for children preparing for their own transplants. There is a poster for children to color and hang on their hospital room walls that says I Will Get Well, there is a page that terms chemo and radiation as Laser Rays and Guard Dogs and pages that help children visualize happy moments -- like playing a favorite sport or activity and jumping rope in the warm sunshine. This book reminds children that it is okay to cry and it even includes a prescription: Make sure you get at least one hug every day! The overall message of this coloring book, which is stated in writing is, "A good attitude does not mean being cheerful all the time; it just means that you know that this is necessary to help fight your cancer."  Well said. And something I will always remember. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Drug Nevada is home to the loneliest road in America , legalized brothels and Las Vegas. Now -- according to a spokesman for Gov. Kenny Guinn -- the state government will help Nevadans with the ability to purchase low-cost prescription drugs from Canada via the internet by providing direct web links to pharmacies in Canada. Nevada is not listening to the staunch objections from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to the fact that it is illegal. The legislators state that the import option is needed because many people pay twice as much for similar prescriptions in this country and often cannot afford the drugs they need to live. Lawmakers contend that the federal policies regarding the ability to obtain low-cost prescription drugs are simply a disgrace. Nevada lawmakers passed the measure allowing Nevadans access to less expensive prescription drugs from Canada, and Nevada regulators have given approval to move ahead with implementing links to pharmacies in Canada. There will be a warning on the state website saying that the federal government views getting prescriptions filled in Canada with non-FDA-approved drugs an illegal act. The state website and links to Canadian pharmacies is scheduled to go live today. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments