Sit Down for This One, Cuz' It Might Make Ya Faint...

I have been very, very lucky so far. Because my white cell counts have been normal, I have not required any supportive care, but just mention the words "supportive care" to an experienced cancer patient and she is likely to cringe. This is because "supportive care" is just a fancy way of saying, "you need to get Neupogen or Neulasta." No, we don't cringe because it is given in syringe form, nor because it hurts, nor because it has any particular side effects; rather, we cringe because Neupogen costs $3,000.00 PER INJECTION! It gets worse: Neulasta costs more than twice that. The decision between the two is a consideration of your particular progress and exactly how compromised your counts might be. Chemo wreaks havoc on your immune system and if your counts get too low, you might require the more costly injection, which involves a larger molecule of the main active ingredient, filgrastim, thus allowing the body to process it over a longer period of time. Either way, you're stuck up the proverbial estuary, without means of locomotion. And don't think insurance gets you off. Mine and many other plans are not exactly crazy about the cost of this, so don't be surprised if you get a bill anyway. There is hope, however. If you qualify, at least, a group known as The Safety Net Foundation offers assistance to people who are prescribed medications from the Amgen pharmaceutical company (yes, they have a bit of reputation for way overpricing their drugs). Aside from this, you just have to hope and pray that your counts stay good, and I'd recommend consuming lots of orange juice or other Vitamin C-rich products to give your immune system a hand where you can. For now, this issue remains highly controversial, and I consider myself very lucky to have avoided it so far. Nonetheless, I may have to receive this medication at some point, and I am sympathetic to those who receive it on a regular basis. Consider this: 6 round of chemo X $3,000.00/injection = $18,000 alone! By comparison, adriamycin (a common and powerful anti-cancer drug) costs between $25 and $75 per cycle. Something is majorly wrong here.

A Must-Have for the Technologically-Inclined Chemo Patient

If you are like me, and addicted to your smartphone, you understand the epic battle that occurs between the "need" to have constant access to the world of social media and the reality of a limited phone battery. Aside from this, I normally am on the road several days a week, and it is important for the mental health of my family and friends that my phone be always available. I recently discovered the ZeroLemon battery (I'm not a paid spokesperson), which I can personally attest to being able to keep a phone alive for upwards of three days on a single charge. I believe these are mostly for Samsung/Android devices, but the general sentiment here remains. If you use a smart phone, I recommend purchasing an extended battery so that while you're in the hospital you can enjoy phone access readily and without the frustration of having to find an outlet that works with your IV stand (I hate those things). It's not something you would normally think about, but trust me, it will make treatments (and your life) a lot easier, and almost all of them are very affordable at around $40 or less!

"Navigating Cancer:" A Must-See Resource for Anyone Touched by Cancer

Full disclosure: I am not currently paid or supported by any site or company to run this blog or endorse. That said, I was so overwhelmed by the depth and sophistication of a particular site I came across that I decided to devote a whole post to it. Navigating Cancer is a completely free all-in-one resource for understanding, treating, managing, and watching cancer with specific portals for physicians and cancer patients, as well as their supporters. On the patient end, it allows you to share your story, links you with any of the nearly 50,000 users who have shared experiences, offers blogs and testimonials related to treatment and management of side effects, and offers many very practical resources such as an appointment manager and a prescription manager. I suspect that this site will be very helpful to me in the future, and if you haven't done so already, I highly recommend you check it out.