Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Chapter 41 Some Reasons for High Cost of Cancer Drugs

Chapter 41


Floyd and I have been reading what Science Daily has recently been publishing about the Cost of Surviving Cancer.

Chapters 40 and 41  highlight two recent articles they published . . .


Physicians Identify Reasons for High Cost of Cancer Drugs, Prescribe Solutions



Science Daily  published this article on   Oct. 1, 2012

— A virtual monopoly held by some drug manufacturers in part because of the way treatment protocols work is among the reasons cancer drugs cost so much in the United States, according to a commentary by two Mayo Clinic physicians in the October issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Value-based pricing is one potential solution, they write.

"Cancer care is not representative of a free-market system, and the traditional checks and balances that make the free-market system work so efficiently in all other areas are absent when it comes to most cancer treatment," write authors, Mustaqeem Siddiqui, M.D., an oncologist and Vincent Rajkumar, M.D., a hematologist.

For example, when it comes to antibiotics to treat a given infection or over-the-counter painkillers, a physician or patient can choose between multiple drugs that do the same thing. But cancer drugs are administered to patients sequentially or in combination, creating a virtual monopoly for each drug. This is one of the principal reasons for the high cost of cancer therapy.

Other factors include the expense of drug development; the high price that patients and insurers are willing to pay for even modest improvement in outcomes; and a lack of regulations such as a cost effectiveness analysis to account for economic and value-based considerations in the drug approval and pricing process, the physicians write.

Solutions the authors recommend include:

* Value-based pricing that includes discrete metrics such as an incremental cost effectiveness ratio per quality-adjusted-life-years gained, as a result of a particular treatment. Quality-adjusted-life-years is an estimate of the number of years added to a patient's life by a specific drug intervention, adjusted for quality of life.

* A U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandate requiring drug companies to submit a value dossier when seeking drug approval. This information would give patients and physicians the ability to make better-informed decisions about treatment.

* Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services powers to negotiate payments for cancer drugs.

* Improved national cancer guidelines providing evidence-based analysis of quality of life, mortality data, benefits, risks and cost for all possible treatment options.

* Monopoly rules to determine if a particular drug will operate in a monopoly situation. Such drugs would be subject to legally mandated or voluntary price controls in exchange for expedited approval or other remedy.

* Non-profit generic drug companies to manufacture and distribute generic cancer drugs at a very low cost.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Mayo Clinic.

Journal Reference:
Mustaqeem Siddiqui, S. Vincent Rajkumar. The High Cost of Cancer Drugs and What We Can Do About It. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2012; 87 (10): 935 DOI:10.1016/j.mayocp.2012.07.007
Mayo Clinic (2012, October 1). Physicians identify reasons for high cost of cancer drugs, prescribe solutions. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 24, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2012/10/121001083212.htm


Floyd and I agree that some drug manufacturers hold a monopoly

You can decide if Science Daily and Floyd & I

 share your point of view . . . or not



Til’ we chat again, 

Remember  . . .

“We are all responsible for our wake and any influence it causes!”





"Leave a wake behind you, that you would want others to leave for you."




  Joe & Floyd



Chapter 40 Cancer Care Costs Double by 2020



Chapter 40


Floyd and I have been reading what Science Daily has recently been
 publishing about the Cost of Surviving Cancer.


Chapter's; 40 and 41  highlights two recent articles they published . . .

  
Cancer Care Costs to More Than Double in Some U.S. States by 2020

Science Daily  published this article on Sep. 24, 2012 

— Cancer-related medical costs, already a significant portion of overall medical expenses in the United States, will more than double in some states in less than eight years, according to a new study by researchers from RTI International and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study, published in The American Journal of Managed Care, includes state-by-state projections of cancer care costs through the year 2020.
According to the study, cancer treatment costs will go up for every state in the nation, ranging from a 34 percent increase in Washington D.C. to a 115 percent increase in Arizona. State-level expenditures for 2020 (in 2010 dollars) will range from $347 million in Washington D.C. to $28.3 billion in California.

"The projections reflect expected demographic shifts," said Justin Trogdon, Ph.D., a health economist at RTI and the lead author of the study. "The states with the higher forecasted increase in costs also have the higher forecasted increases in the number of residents over age 65. These estimates provide a useful baseline against which to gauge the impact of cancer policies and could be useful for guiding future investments in cancer prevention and early detection."

The states with the highest projected cancer-care costs were California ($28.3 billion), Florida ($24.9 billion), Texas ($19.6 billion) and New York ($17.4 billion). Washington, D.C. had the lowest projected cancer-care costs ($347 million), followed by Alaska ($508 million) and Wyoming ($539 million).

The researchers used cancer prevalence data from the 2004 to 2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey along with U.S. Census Bureau population forecasts to determine how many people in each state will likely need cancer treatment in 2020 and what the average cost of treatment will be.

State-level estimates of the number of residents needing cancer treatment between 2010 and 2020 varied significantly across states, ranging from a 7 percent decline in cancer cases in Washington D.C. to 46 percent increase in Arizona.

The states with the largest projected increases in the number of people treated for cancer include Florida (353,000), California (351,000) and Texas (249,000).

"Effective prevention and early detection strategies are needed to limit the growing burden of cancer," Trogdon said. "We hope that these findings are useful for states as they try to make evidence-based decisions about the allocation of resources for cancer research and interventions as well as other policy decisions related to cancer prevention and treatment."

The projections in the study were based on the assumption that the percentage of people treated for cancer would remain constant within age, sex and state categories and that the inflation-adjusted cost of cancer care per person will increase by 3.6 percent per year.


Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by RTI International.

Journal Reference:
Justin G. Trogdon, Florence K. L. Tangka, Donatus U. Ekwueme, Gery P. Guy Jr., Isaac Nwaise, Diane Orenstein.State-Level Projections of Cancer-Related Medical Care Costs: 2010 to 2020. The American Journal of Managed Care, 2012; 18 (9): 525-532 [link]
RTI International (2012, September 24). Cancer care costs to more than double in some U.S. states by 2020. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 24, 



Floyd and I agree that Cancer Care Costs can More Than Double in Some U.S. States by 2020

You can decide if Science Daily and Floyd & I share

 your point of view . . . or not



 Til’ we chat again, 

Remember  . . .

“We are all responsible for our wake and any influence it causes!”




"Leave a wake behind you, that you would want others to leave for you."




 Floyd & I

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Chapter 39 Floyd’s Spring and Early Summer 2013 Photos

Chapter 39

Floyd’s Spring and Early Summer 2013 Photos

To all of our friends and followers,

Floyd reminded me, again, that we have not posted any new photos for a long time.

The reason being, Floyd and I have been updating our website and have been busy

 Marketing our Visual Art.

Our website Visual Art By Joseph  has a new look and more features. 


The marketing of our visual art . . . is both an art and science. 

We became a member/artist to Fine Art America in February 2013.

As a Member of Fine Art America, we are able to promote and sell our art online. 

As of today, we have over 800 quality fine art photos

 available for you to gift to anyone that is important to you, especially for you.

We have made it easy for everyone to view our photos available on Fine Art America by providing a link to this site on our website Visual Art By Joseph


Please enjoy  these photos that have been recently taken by Floyd and I









These photos and more . . . are available for purchase . . .

Just go to Our website Visual Art By Joseph 
and connect to our Fine Art America Link.

Til’ we chat again, 

Remember  . . .

“We are all responsible for our wake and any influence it causes!”


"Leave a wake behind you, that you would want others to leave for you."



 Floyd & Joe

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Chapter 38 Floyd’s 2013 Port of Call

Chapter 38

Floyd’s 2013 Port of Call


Floyd and I are pleased to announce that . . .

 Our new Home Port of Call for 2013 and beyond is


“Where the Mokelumne meets the San Joaquin River”





To all of our friends and followers,

Please know that our decision to relocate was based on the fact that this marina has been family run for 76 years and that the owners and their friendly staff are more than eager to make everyone’s’ stay enjoyable . .  and equally important . . .


 Korth’s Pirate Lair Marina

Loves Floyd . . .

Floyd was launched 6-3-2013 and Island Girl moved on 6-26-2013

 Island Girl will continue to enjoy Lazy Dazes on the Delta while Floyd and I resume sharing our stories and photos taken on our continued adventures now that we are back on the Delta waterways . . . after the 4th of July weekend holiday.


Til’ we chat again, 

Remember  . . .

“We are all responsible for our wake and any influence it causes!”

"Leave a wake behind you, that you would want others to leave for you."


 Floyd & Joe

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Chapter 37 Floyd's Family Reunion


Chapter 37

Floyd’s family reunion




Floyd and I have revised our plans to be on the water, twice, since February 2013 . . . .

and we still have not, as of today, launched. 

That is OK, because Floyd had a Family Reunion to attend.

Our Readers may recall that Chapter 35 and 36 have both been relatively brief as Floyd and I have been pre-occupied with the arrival of my first grandson.

However, during this time, I had no idea that Floyd had been privately pre-occupied with a hope to attend a family reunion that was very special to her.

 Shortly after we returned to the Delta, Floyd told me that the annual

Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show
Is coming to Oakland, California
April 11-14 2013

I told Floyd that I had heard of this event but that I did not think that we could attend . . .

In March, Floyd sat me down and reminded me that I had a reunion with my daughter and held my grandson  . . .
 but that he had not been to a single family reunion of his.

 Floyd then retold the story of his previous life as “Pinkie” when Ken Lange, the owner of International Marine, built her to be a part of a Breast Cancer Fundraiser.


International Marine pledged to raise money
for curing breast cancer via part of the proceeds when Pinkie was sold.

Floyd told me Hyde Sails made a suit of Pink and White Sails for her.

Pinkie was at the Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show
in Oakland, California on April 14 thru April 17, 2011 . . . 


Floyd wanted to be part of the 2013 Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show.

So Floyd requested that we delay our Delta Adventure so that he could have a reunion with her friends and followers at the Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show.

How could I refuse Floyd ? 
I could not . . . 

That evening I sent an e-mail to Ken  and shared Floyd’s wishes with him.

Ken was eager to see Floyd again so he made the necessary arrangements

 for Floyd and I to be his guest at the Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show 2013.

Floyd had a great Family Reunion . . . she was able to hook up with Judy from Hyde Sails

and gave her a Gr8 big hug for making his sails . . .

Floyd also was reunited with many Potter Fans and PW-15 Owners . . . 

and made many new friends who promised to follow our adventures.









Without Question It was a Great Week for all


Floyd & I plan to be in the water soon  . . .


Til’ we chat again, 

Floyd wanted to share with all  . . .

Her first close encounter with a 

Bird of Prey



Floyd and I will ask you each time we chat to 

Remember  . . . that  . . .

“We are all responsible for our wake and any influence it causes!”

"Leave a wake behind you, that you would want others to leave for you."


 Floyd & Joe




Sunday, March 10, 2013

Chapter 36 My grandson has arrived . . . .



Chapter 36


 My grandson has arrived . . . .




 His Name Is Braydon.


My grandson  was born on February 21, 2013.


Please note:  Smiling and having responsibility to hold my grandson
 are two separate tasks,

For the photo:  my focus is on holding my grandson . . .

I smile off camera . . .

Floyd & I will be back on the Delta mid April 2013

Remember . . . .

“We are all responsible for our wake and any influence it causes!”

"Leave a wake behind you, that you would want others to leave for you."


 Best wishes to all our readers . . . 

 Floyd & Joe