$10,000-plus Worth of Tykerb

I battled with my mail-order "specialty" pharmacy (Medco) from November 2 through November 21, when the drug finally landed on my front porch. I spent more than four hours on the phone during this time, most of it on hold.

Now, finally, I HAVE MY TYKERB!

The funny thing is, the battles were never about getting approval from my insurance company, WSHIP, to pay for this very expensive drug. That was never a problem.

And they weren't really battles, in the sense that I think of battles over cancer treatment. Rather, the pharmacy, which I believe is owned by my health insurance company (I'll confirm that on Monday), was doing its best to delay delivery of the Tykerb. In doing so, it saved itself about $2,000, and possibly caused me harm: I was supposed to start this drug THREE WEEKS earlier than I did.

My oncologist, Dr. Lee, was really angry when he heard about the delay.

In any case, the drug is here, three huge bottles (the pharmacy mails three months' worth at a time). That's five pills a day times 30, times three: 450 bright orange horse pills.

Good thing I don't have any trouble swallowing pills!

I felt that this historic moment should be memorialized with a photo or two.

It blows me away: I have more than $10,000 worth of Tykerb sitting on my kitchen table. I could buy a car for that. Heck, I could buy TWO cars for that.

What happens if it's stolen? Will the pharmacy replace it? And why, WHY, is this drug so expensive?

Stay tuned for answers to these questions, and more.

@ Jeanne Sather 2007.

Comments

[Amorette]

Don't let word get out how expensive it is, or it'll be catastrophic for the jewelery industry. We'll be seeing ads for 18-kt Tykerb pendants and it'll start replacing bling in music videos.

As a metastatic cancer patient, I would think you'd be in an excellent position to litigate on this one. It's a gratuitous delay that a patient receiving treatment can't afford, and there's really no excuse.

[Sara]

Hey, at least they're orange, not pink... ;)

[jeanne]

Sara--you KNOW how much trouble I'd have swallowing these if they were pink ...

And Amorette--maybe I'll wrap a few of these in silver wire and dangle them from my ears. What do you think?

Do the two of you know each other, besides on my blog, I mean? Because you're both artists, as well as cancer bloggers, and all the other things you have in common. You'll meet at the Cancer Bloggers Reunion, right?

[Amorette]

I'd love to come to Seattle. I told my mom to save my dad's frequent flier miles, although I don't think they're taking me seriously (I dislike flying- don't like being so out-of-control).

Always on the lookout for like-minded individuals! :)