Help Young Expat Hit with Stage 4 Cancer

[lexilis]

46 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Do you have to do that through employment or can you just pay direct.....any idea of cost?

 

Just wondering if this could a reasonable alternative to health insurance.

 

Cheers.

Can only get through employment. I don't recall what the deduction was from my paychecks but it was very small. I retired 4 years ago and I still get Thai SS and I pay 432 Bt per month for it.

[marcusb]

Heres my guess.

 

Stage 4 as mentioned, generally end of the road. Possibly he is seeking "Alternative"  procedures here. Expensive and questionable results and not covered by insurance.  

[Antiparovian]

An MRI for a strained neck. 2 stage 4 cancers (no mention that one is a metatasis), both without symptoms. Neck MRI showing brain and lung lesions. Seems odd.

[jerrymahoney]

The GoFundMe is for$240.000. From that website it seems there is the bulk of the cost:

 

We estimate that it will take at least $240,000 to cover his initial medical expenses over the next 3 years.

For example, the targeted immunotherapy medicine alone will cost $5,200 per month. This game-changing treatment might well last for years and is the cornerstone of Sam’s cancer recovery strategy. This drug will save Sam’s life.

[MyFriend You]

4 hours ago, BKKBike09 said:

Perhaps it's my age, but "Young Expat" to me would be a kid, a teen or at most in early 20s. But 36?

He's still about half the age of the average Ex-Pat living in Phuket, Pattaya, Bangkok............I say "Living" in Thailand, not visiting.

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

A guess -- and only a guess -- might be that the bulk of his treatment costs are on an outpatient basis and his insurance (that of very little support) only covers inpatient costs.

I have supposedly inpatient only insurance but it will most certainly cover treatments that can be done and allow me to return home...... but in this case of the OP, I expect many treatments will require in-patient, and overnight stay. It may be as simple as he only has accident insurance, Covid Insurance or something limited like that... also many policies have a max/ ailment, 1mil/ 2mil THB.. here we talk of over 7 mil.

Edited March 16, 2022 by jacko45k

[internationalism]

55 minutes ago, marcusb said:

Heres my guess.

 

Stage 4 as mentioned, generally end of the road. Possibly he is seeking "Alternative"  procedures here. Expensive and questionable results and not covered by insurance.  

yes, private hospital offering false hopes, in process making big money.

The best cancer care is in the USA. Patients from all over the world travel there, not to Thailand.

Instead of relying of a thai private hospital importing very expensive medicine at $5200 month, paying hight import charges, might be worth to get to USA and buy there stock for several month. That's what patients do if they can't travel to the USA  for a treatment. 

In india there might be a generic one, for a fraction of thai or the usa price.

[internationalism]

3 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I have supposedly outpatient only insurance but it will most certainly cover treatments that can be done and allow me to return home...... but in this case of the OP, I expect many treatments will require in-patient, and overnight stay. It may be as simple as he only has accident insurance, Covid Insurance or something limited like that... also many policies have a max/ ailment, 1mil/ 2mil THB.. here we talk of over 7 mil.

I think you have inpatient only.

Outpatient is obligatory, added on top of inpatient.

Those needing cancer care, dialysies and similar, would stay for the whole day treatments. It's counted as inpatient and would be covered by insurance. That what I have read in insurance and health sub-forums

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, internationalism said:

I think you have inpatient only.

Outpatient is obligatory, added on top of inpatient.

Those needing cancer care, dialysies and similar, would stay for the whole day treatments. It's counted as inpatient and would be covered by insurance. That what I have read in insurance and health sub-forums

Thx typo.. corrected now.

[bjhabal]

Unfortunately stage four means it is over and there is no way to stop the spreading. Usually he has four to six month left, but could last up one painful year with aggressive treatment and being young Ana healthy. Nevertheless there is always the hope of a miracle. Wish him  the best.

[Ralf001]

3 hours ago, Kenchamp said:

His country's government should be paying for his and any other of their citizens treatment. 

Why ?

[arick]

He started drugs and drinking at 15/16

[orchis]

8 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

From GoFundMe page:

 

The cost of medical care is significantly less in Thailand than it would be in the U.S.

It's almost nothing when you ask the general public to chip in 240,000 dollars.

[dj230]

Sucks he has cancer but he should have had medical insurance living in a foreign country. 

 

I can never understand why people cheap out get some dodgy insurance to save money only to need the insurance and not be covered. 

I wonder if he got yearly checkups? That’s the bare minimum to keep your health in check. 
 

Curious if he has savings to cover this as well, he had a job. I am in my mid 20’s and was able to save up 6 figures before deciding to move to Thailand. 

Edited March 16, 2022 by dj230

[John Drake]

6 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

There must be more to this.

dah tah dahhhhh!

[placeholder]

3 hours ago, Heymelody said:

Started a new account just to comment on this…

Honestly I’m appalled at how many Farangs that live/ travel here don’t have adequate insurance coverage and once anything goes wrong, turn to “Go fund me” to ask the public to take responsibility for them.

 

Next, there’s so many questions unanswered:- 

1. Why doesn’t he fly back to the USA to seek treatment? I’m sure that he has insurance back home?

2. His employer sounds good and all but doesn’t it provide a full range insurance that covers cancer? Seems like he chose Private over public?

3. So he has built an incredible network of friends, which I’m sure will chip in right? I mean what’s the point of adding this in?

4. The page doesn’t state the chances of survival after incurring all these medical costs

 

You're right that he should have purchased adequate insurance in Thailand. But what makes you think he has insurance back home? He's from the USA. Health insurance is not a given there.

[sweatalot]

doesn't seem trustworthy.

 

What's the name of the hospital?

 

Are there any hospital reports?

Edited March 16, 2022 by sweatalot

[SunsetT]

6 hours ago, BKKBike09 said:

Perhaps it's my age, but "Young Expat" to me would be a kid, a teen or at most in early 20s. But 36?

Most would be old f a r ts like me; 60 up....555

[Excel]

1 minute ago, sweatalot said:

doesn't seem trustworthy.

 

What's the name of the hospital?

 

Are there any hospital reports?

Now you are asking leading questions ????

[SunsetT]

I have not been able to open Gofundme.com  for quite some time. I always get this message in Edge and Firefox:

 

Did Not Connect: Potential Security Issue

Firefox detected a potential security threat and did not continue to www.gofundme.com because this web site requires a secure connection.

What can you do about it?

www.gofundme.com has a security policy called HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), which means that Firefox can only connect to it securely. You can’t add an exception to visit this site.

The issue is most likely with the web site, and there is nothing you can do to resolve it. You can notify the web site’s administrator about the problem.

[Mywayboy]

6 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Treatment for Stage 1 cancers is usually successful. There does not appear to be any information on the odds of successfully treating this person's Stage 4 cancer, FAIK he may only have a 10% chance of survival. Which means the $240,000 could be a total waste of money.

In his shoes, I'd be asking for a happy pill and exit.

Something not Kosha here me thinks.

[Excel]

6 minutes ago, Mywayboy said:

Something not Kosha here me thinks.

Agreed, seems like a con job without evidence. These "go fund me" schemes are taking over from the Nigerian Princes wanting to send you money to your bank account.

[Pravda]

Filed under I don't give a damn

[sawadee1947]

Let the health insurance pay.

[sawadee1947]

9 hours ago, darrenr said:

How does Thai insurance not cover cancer treatment ?

Of course even Thai health insurance will pay for cancel treatment. So what?

Sucking Money?????

[sawadee1947]

6 hours ago, CM Dad said:

Thai social security insurance is only available for those who are working if their employer has applied for it.  It must be initiated by the employer and then offered to employees.  Even then, it is not given to all employees, which should be the case, but sadly isn't.  The insurance industry in Thailand is a money-making racket for insurance companies.  It is poorly supervised and regulated.

Bs. Everybody will benefit. Not only employees.

[placeholder]

6 hours ago, CM Dad said:

Thai social security insurance is only available for those who are working if their employer has applied for it.  It must be initiated by the employer and then offered to employees.  Even then, it is not given to all employees, which should be the case, but sadly isn't.  The insurance industry in Thailand is a money-making racket for insurance companies.  It is poorly supervised and regulated.

Social security registration is mandatory for employees in Thailand under the labour law and allows employees to access to the social security benefits.

https://thailand.acclime.com/guides/social-security-explained/#:~:text=Social security registration is mandatory,the following social security information.

[FalangJaiDee]

1 hour ago, dj230 said:

Sucks he has cancer but he should have had medical insurance living in a foreign country. 

 

I can never understand why people cheap out get some dodgy insurance to save money only to need the insurance and not be covered. 

I wonder if he got yearly checkups? That’s the bare minimum to keep your health in check. 
 

Curious if he has savings to cover this as well, he had a job. I am in my mid 20’s and was able to save up 6 figures before deciding to move to Thailand. 

Ok zoomer 

[bkk6060]

There are many options for people in this situation in the U.S., why doesn't he just go back?

 

[ukrules]

7 hours ago, XJPSX said:

Fortunately my work covers the $3500 bill each year

That's the issue here, your insurance, like mine is likely a very comprehensive plan and that's reflected in the price.

 

Not all of them are, in your case your employer pays for it, in my case I pay for mine directly and it's at a similar level to yours, a bit more in fact, swap the dollar sign to a pound sign but it covers everything.

 

The main reason I took out this plan more than 10 years ago is in case I get some serious disease like cancer or have an accident which can happen to anyone at any moment.

 

I would want to be treated in the nearest 5 star hospital, so I pay the fee.