Cost of Chemotherapy in Hong Kong

Since i couldnt find this when we were looking and the cost hit us like a brick


Breast Cancer 3rd Generation Chemotherapy in Hong kong quotation private with the latest drugs is around one million HK$


(cost is aprox HK$1,000,000)

Try to ask the doctor to write a recommendation letter to the public hospital for the patient and if accepted will cost very low.

Wish you luck!

If you really can't afford that, there are some alternative. Chinese medicine can help patients in my ways. It is worthwile to explore that

I hope you are OK.


For anyone else suffering from Cancer, Chinese medicine won't do anything that a placebo won't.


In China they promote Chinese medicine to peasants because they can't afford Chemo, but they would feel very hard done by (and could cause an uprising) if they did not have any 'medical' options.


Chinese peasants don't have access to knowledge and aren't educated in the same way we do here and so they don't understand the difference. Anyone in HK however does not have this excuse.


Chinese medicine is only good BEFORE you get a real disease, as it is basically just good nutrition (the parts that have been shown to actually do something anyway).


Eat well, sleep well, and excersize well have the same measurable benifits as Chinese medicine (the bits that work), and if it can't be measured it's a bunch of woo woo and it's NOT going to help with a real problem like Cancer, you will simply end up delaying real treatment and have less chances of survival.


Do whatever you have to do to get science based medicine right away if you are diagnosed with cancer. The chances of survival vary with each type and stage of cancer, but in all cases it's still better than doing nothing (Chinese medicine = nothing in this situation).

Going to the public hospitals does not always mean that it will be cheaper. The Hospital authority does offer some chemotherapy drugs for free (well a 10 dollar dispensing fee) but newer drugs are user pay. Is suspect that a private clinic would have a markup on those drugs though, so although not free, they might be cheaper through the hospital authority.


I would recommend getting a referral to the public hospitals to get a consult and an idea of the cost/privacy benefits.

@gaz hayes.... I get what you're saying here (fly soup often isn't a great "cure" for anything), but you are incorrect when you say that TCM is only good prior to developing an illness.


Some of the treatments, like Cordyceps fungus, are being found to have great therapeutic benefits for patients suffering from cancer or bone marrow issues. Cannabis, which has been a mainstay in TCM for thousands of years despite the PRC's current standing on the plant, is also having great effects on seriously ill patients for a range of genetic and non-genetic illnesses (not that I’m recommending Cannabis, but the science shows the benefits and pain relief which comes from using something like hash oil).


Yes, ground up Rhino tusk probably won’t do anything for you, neither will tiger penis. But Acupuncture (long considered seriously hokum) is now being found to have positive benefits (again, for a range of illnesses) which are being repeated in clinical settings… some quick sources:


http://www.rdmag.com/News/2012/04/Japanese-researchers-show-that-acupuncture-can-improve-skeletal-muscle-atrophy/


http://www.familypracticenews.com/news/more-top-news/single-view/acupuncture-improves-heart-rate-variability-in-chd/f86dcff96a.html


http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/apr/16/fertility-fusion/


http://americannewsreport.com/new-acupuncture-treatment-gives-longer-pain-relief-8813969.html


http://www.healthcmi.com/index.php/acupuncturist-news-online/527-acupuncturecerebrovascularvasospasmcvs


(The last one can be taken with a grain of salt given the source).


Now, while I wouldn’t recommend only receiving cancer treatment via Traditional Chinese Medicine, it definitely can’t hurt to go down the TCM route in consultation with your doctor. As long as the compounds in the herbs and such which the patient is taking aren’t going to mess with the Chemo/Radiotherapy, what’s the harm? And if the doctor Ok’s using TCM in tandem with western treatment there may even be a positive benefit.


While I’m definitely a skeptic when it comes to alternative therapies (like naturopathy, what a load of rubbish), the science is starting to show that there are benefits to certain TCM treatments…. And if there is a benefit, why disregard the option as long as the option is considered non-harmful by an actual medical professional?

Thanks scrugby that was some good info.


I have nothing against using TCM as long as it does not conflict with science based medicine. But to clarify, what I'm basically saying is that it's not an alternative to science based medicine. It's extremely unethical for a TCM practitioner to promote TCM as an alternative to real medicine and qualified doctors for the treatment of cancer, they should be charged with manslaughter when someone dies as a result.

Hi

First of all stay very positive, this link has info on Cancer care in HK, If you contact them they may give you more accurate information.

http://www.cancer-fund.org/en/

Good luck.

Go public if you are eligible, the system is far better than the critics like to make out, all of the big public hospitals are also teaching hospitals, so the department heads are often also HKU professors, you will not be gouged the way the public systems gouges, some treatments may not be covered if the are extremely costly, however I understand that there are organisations, such as the cancer foundation that will provide funds for such if you can pass a means test, try the Hong Kong Cancer foundation.