Xeloda is Easier to Get Free than Other Chemos

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/4/2004 2:20:25 PM Eastern Standard Time,

altman23@... writes:

But Xeloda runs closer to $2000/$3000 per month " full cost " . You can see why

they would be more likely to " give it away " for free to those with financial

difficulties.

Just a thought!

Best Wishes,

That and the fact that it is so much easier to deal with the pill form of a

medication as opposed to the IV form which many times requires refrigeration,

reconstitution, added costs due to injection, wastage, etc. That's probably

why my onc.'s company refuses to deal with the patient assistance program from

the pharmacy company that makes the Oxaliplatin. They say they've had bad

experiences in the past and had to use their own supply of meds and the IV meds

haven;t gotten there in time or that they had leftover medication that the

pharmacy company wanted to be reimbursed for. Blah, blah, blah....

Terry in GA with a bad attitude today

[Guest guest]

Hi Terry and All,

This is in reply to message #8531.

It would seem to me that Xeloda is a bit easier to obtain free or at

greatly reduced cost thru various programs than most any other colon

chemo I have seen. I am currently getting Xeloda free thru my

insurance company, which has until now refused to pay for ANY chemo

for me.

I believe the reason for this is because of the HUGE differences in

costs between Xeloda and most any intravenous chemo drug (Oxaliplatin

and/or Camptosar).

For example, Oxaliplatin would appear to run around $10,000 per

treatment, and you need 2 treatments per month. Camptosar apparently

has a similar cost. No one wants to cover such a big expense!

But Xeloda runs closer to $2000/$3000 per month " full cost " . You can

see why they would be more likely to " give it away " for free to those

with financial difficulties.

Just a thought!

Best Wishes,

Terry wrote:

> I was able to qualify for a pharmacy assistance program for Xeloda

and they

> ended up sending my onc. 3 months supply which they in turn gave to

me. Try

> this: Products covered by program: Roche product line with some

exceptions

> Physician requests should be directed to Roche Medical Needs

Program Roche

> Laboratories, Inc. 340 Kingsland Street Nutley, New Jersey 07110

. This

> is the company that manufactures Xeloda. They spoke briefly with

me then

> asked that my physician's office contact them. I had to fill out a

brief form

> and include some documentation as to our financial picture and that

was it.> Terry in GA