Last week my mom was diagnosed with metastatic (stage IV) breast cancer. As someone who has worked in the pharmaceutical industry, studies cancer drug prices, and is trained as a health services researcher, I have some thoughts to share about our current system. 1/10
First, #Cancer sucks. Metastatic cancer is something I hope you never have to say to or hear from someone that you love. When it is you, or your loved one, you desperately want more time. You want good quality of life, and you need for them to live. 2/10
The subtype of cancer tells you what treatment options you have in this really awful situation. If you have orally administered options or infused options, for example. Some subtypes have great targeted therapies that extend life and "are well tolerated". 3/10
Being on Medicare brings the added stress of affordability. Before knowing my mom's specific tumor type, a friend told me the treatment used for the most common subtype. It included oral drugs on #PartD - one of them is >$10K out of pocket per year. I know. I did a study. 4/10
This drug only has data on progression free survival. If that improved my mom's quality of life, great. If not, would this be worth the huge costs to her? I ask these questions for a living but have no idea if it is "worth it". In this situation you are scared of saying no. 5/10
Ultimately, my mom will have treatment under her medical benefit (because of her tumor type) which has an out of pocket maximum on Medicare Advantage. It could have easily gone the other way. 6/10
I have spent the last 10+ years studying #PartD. It needs to be reformed to meet the needs of patients with cancer. The current benefit is broken. There are sensible plans to fix it in the House and Senate now. Beneficiaries deserve to be protected from financial ruin. 7/10
People with cancer (and their families) deserve information on what they can expect from their treatments. They need to be able to judge if a treatment will give them more days (and/or good days). They should also be able to afford it. 8/10
I am grateful for innovation and the drugs that have been shown to extend overall survival. I am grateful for an out of pocket maximum for infused drugs on Medicare Advantage. This will mean choices are made based on outcomes, not solely on costs. 9/10
I will continue to do work on this issue to make it so that if you ever find yourself in this situation you won't have to struggle with these questions. Cancer is hard enough. 10/10
Thank you for the love, friends. Hoping for the best. Here is a pic from a happier day. 
Addendum: Companies should not advertise drugs for metastatic cancer on TV. ADs are more than an annoyance. After one of the WORST weeks of my life those ads felt like slap in the face. Some cannot afford treatment. Others cannot benefit. Why advertise for rare diseases!?!?
