What Makes Chemotherapy Expensive In Pakistan?
Cancer is often treated with chemotherapy. Some drugs are used to combat cancer, either by killing the cancer cells or by stopping their growth and spread to other parts of your body. Chemotherapy can be prescribed alone or in conjunction with surgery or radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy is not the only way to combat cancer. You might also take newer cancer-fighting medications. Medications or injections can be used to administer chemo. Through an IV, what doctors call an infusion, one might receive the drugs at a clinic or hospital.
There are times when drug intake is prescribed over a few weeks in order to restore strength and build new, healthy cells in the body. Doses may be taken daily, weekly, or monthly. The type and severity of your cancer determine how long you will live.
There are a lot of factors that add to make Chemotherapy expensive in Pakistan. But first, we need to understand various reasons due to which chemotherapy is prescribed to the patients.
Why Chemotherapy Is Suggested?
Cancer cells can persist in the body even after a tumor has been removed. Tumors can grow from these cells, or cancer can spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy involves the use of chemicals that cause the cells to die, shrink, or be controlled. Cancer-related symptoms, such as pain, can also be treated with it. A doctor may also prescribe chemotherapy before they remove a tumor through surgery in order to shrink it.
How Much Chemotherapy Costs In Pakistan?
Chemotherapy involves a team of doctors, specialized in various fields to ensure patient’s well-being. Other than dues for these doctors there are different kinds of medicines. The oncologist prescribes these in groups for the patient to consume during various stages while curing cancer. These medicines are expensive and usually prescribed periodically making the expenses go sky high.
Depending on your cancer, you may choose chemotherapy as your main treatment, or you may select it in conjunction with radiation, surgery, hormone therapy, or targeted therapy. Your life will divide into treatment cycles and recovery periods.
These costs may add clinic visits and if the patient is from remote or urban areas the travel costs also add ups. Moreover, lab tests cost a lot, not every lab has the proper equipment to give accurate results. And those labs that have equipment add up the overall cost. Moreover, these tests are required periodically, to ensure the well-being of the cancer patient.
Consultation with specialists adds up to the cost of chemotherapy. This is one of the most important expenses a cancer patient spends money on. Because without proper consultation and options a cancer patient has the cure is more of a failure.
As mentioned above the chemotherapy is based on medicines. These medicines are different kinds of pills and injections. Their costs are mentioned below, these costs add up to the overall costs of chemotherapy in Pakistan. The medicine’s costs for chemotherapy don’t stop here, the cancer patient at some point might also need other drugs for treating side effects, like pain and nausea. And all of these medicines are are dire necessities for a cancer patient else it turns bad for them.
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What Are Chemotherapy Drugs?
There are dozens of chemotherapy drugs that doctors can prescribe. Their composition and methods of working often give rise to divisions between them. There are numerous types of cancer drugs that oncologists use to shrink or destroy cancer cells.
To prevent cancer cells from multiplying, some drugs damage their DNA. These are alkylating agents, which are the oldest kind of chemotherapy. There are many types of cancer that they treat, including leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease. Furthermore, it can also cure multiple myeloma, and sarcoma, as well as breast, lung, and ovarian cancers.
Some examples of alkylating agents are given below along with their expected prices in Pakistan:
Cyclophosphamide. Price:250+ PKR
Melphalan. Price: 700+ PKR
Temozolomide. Price: 9000+ PKR
Despite their ability to kill bad cells, they can also cause your bone marrow to break down in the process. This will be leading to leukemia later on. Small doses of the drugs can help lower this risk. There is one type of alkylating agent, platinum drugs like the following ones with their expected prices in Pakistan:
Carboplatin. Price: 850+ PKR
Cisplatin. Price: 7 to 800 PKR
Oxaliplatin. Price: 20,000+ PKR
These drugs have a lower risk of causing leukemia.
Sex Timing medicine name and Prices
Antimetabolites
Chemotherapy drugs can interfere with normal cell metabolism, causing them to cease growing. Drugs like these are known as antimetabolites. Treatment for leukemia, ovarian cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer is often provided with these vaccines. Such drugs include
5-fluorouracil. Price: 600+ PKR
6-mercaptopurine. Price: 300+ PKR
Cytarabine. Price: 1000+ PKR
Gemcitabine. Price: 1600+ PKR
Methotrexate. Price: 1200+ PKR
For cancer cell proliferation the anthracyclines, enzymes are attacked inside cancer cell’s DNA during chemotherapy. Some of these drugs are
Actinomycin-D. Price: 250+ PKR
Bleomycin. Price: 11,000+ PKR
Daunorubicin. Price: 600+ PKR
Doxorubicin. Price: 700+ PKR
Antitumor antibiotics taken in high doses can cause heart and lung damage. In this case, your doctor may want you to take the medications for a short period. It stops cancer cells from reproducing after the use of mitotic inhibitors. Furthermore, they could prevent the body from creating the proteins cancer cells require.
It is possible that doctors will prescribe them for breast and lung cancers and types of myeloma, leukemia, and lymphoma. Mitotic inhibitors include docetaxel, estramustine, paclitaxel, and vinblastine.
Topoisomerase Inhibitor
Another kind of medicine, known as the topoisomerase inhibitor, inhibits the growth and division of cancer cells. In addition to treating certain forms of leukemia, they treat cancers of the lungs, ovaries, and intestines. Medicines in this category include
Etoposide. Price: 800+ PKR
Irinotecan. Price: 8,000+ PKR
Teniposide. Price: 8000+ PKR
Topotecan. Price: 10,000+ PKR
It is sometimes possible to get second cancer after taking one of these drugs. Steroids mimic the effects of your body’s own hormones. As well as reducing nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy, these are useful when treating a variety of cancers. A few medications are also capable of preventing allergic reactions. Your doctor may prescribe the following steroids:
Prednisone: Price: 100+ PKR
Methylprednisolone: Price: 2000+ PKR
Dexamethasone. Price: 90+ PKR
How Can You Tell if Chemotherapy Is Working?
In both the course of and after treatment, an oncologist monitors you. Likewise, oncologists also monitor tumor shrinkage or growth. Depending on the condition, they may use tests such as physical exams, blood tests, or imaging scans. Your oncologist may prescribe a different dose or mix of treatments if your treatment doesn’t seem to be working.
Being in India you might want to go through Indian Prices of chemotherapy medicines. This will further reduce the hassle to fight cancer. Making more winning chances for you. Beating the cancer isn’t easy especially when you are consuming such loads of medicines. Making the moods and digestive system go almost out of the way. It only helps to get the most accurate information out of the market.
To purchase the medicines that are most effective among its competitors. Do involve your oncologist when choosing the medicines, they know the best manufacturers. Making sure this information helps all its readers we would encourage you to comment on the feedback. If the prices are not up to date kindly, inform us by using the comment section.
