Breast Cancer

[ratcatcha]

hi people. my big bros gf has just been diagnosed with the big bad c and we're both climbing the walls trying to get info. neither of us has the cash to go private at the moment and i just need to know what care she can get on her healthcare card. does the 30 baht scheme cover breast cancer? ive trawled the net and cant find a def answer. time is of the essence as it really is serious. 2 lumps in the left and 4 in the right. this is a good woman and the world is a better place with her in it. help us out please. im really ######in scared for my brother if she dies. hes a good man and has put up with a lot in the last few years. please help us out. i spoke to a doc on the phone a few minutes ago and he was so vague about the options i really dont know what to do. sorry to lower the mood but im in pieces right now. any docs or nurses on this forum? give us a hand ?

[sbk]

Everything is covered under the health care program I believe.

As for breast cancer, well make sure she has an aggressive oncologist who is willing to do whats necessary to get it treated. Breast cancer does not have to be a death sentence. My stepmom has had it 3 different times and is alive to tell the tale today.

If the doctor or hospital she is currently attending is not willing or able to deal with this make sure she gets a referral to a hospital than can (it's necessary if she is to be covered by the health care program).

My mother had an estrogen sensitive breast cancer so, for her, tamoxifen worked very well. They will have to do a biopsy to know for sure what kind of cancer it is in order to determine the most effective treatment.

Again, it is vital the doctor is actively involved and willing to invest time and energy in her recovery. If not, request one who will.

[taxexile]

below are some links that you might find useful.

Thailand:

Lampang Regional cancer Center:

www.thai.net/cancer_lp

Email: [email protected]

National Cancer Institute:

www.nci.go.th

For more information or questions on breast cancer in Thailand here are some valuable links and contacts:

Connie Larkin

Bangkok Breast Cancer Foundation

[email protected]

Bangkok General Hospital

http://www.bangkokhospital.com

Bangkok Nursing Home Hospital

http://www.bangkoknursinghome.com

Samitivej Hospital

http://www.samitivej-cancer.com

Horizon (Cancer Center at Bumrungrad Hospital)

http://www.bumrungrad.com/

[taxexile]

and here

www.bangkokbreastcancer.com/

[ratcatcha]

thanks for the replies, linkys. been a wierd day. i took the day off work to do some research like. she doesnt speak too much english and my pasa thai is piss poor. i tried telling her to come down here so we can go to a hospital and get a second opinion etc. i dont think the lass got it at all. shes obviously really scared too. im not sure what to do next. she wont have a mastectomy which is what the doctor has recomended. cant really blame her to be honest. you know how appearance is everything to the thais but i really want her to do it. from what ive learned today its the only chance she has. ive also learned that private care is well beyond us. the chemo/radiotherapy is the killer. costs a fortune if its ongoing. my bro has gone into his shell and wont talk to me properly. i think he's just shut down all feeling in case things get worse. poor bastard. he dont deserve this. im still to find out if chemo can do enough without the mastectomy.from what ive heard so far i dont think so but surely theres a way. "if theres a will theres a way"? and there is a ######in will to be sure. i asked a thai mate to call her and translate stuff for me but he has refused. is there a company that does phone translations for people? i really need to get it through to her that she needs to get the mastectomy (NOW!). i dunno how to convince her. i suppose if i promise to pay for reconstruction she may agree but i dont know if it will be a hollow promise. me and the bro aint rich men. i really dont know what our options are now. how good is the 30 baht scheme? im still to be convinced. we need to do something now though. its been going on too long already. i hear that days can be very important in breast cancer. if you know anything that may help then please post it.

to the guy that pm'd me, forgot your name. you are a true gentleman sir. i salute you and wish you luck also. thank you.

Edited July 19, 2007 by ratcatcha

[sbk]

Radical mastectomies aren't always necessary. Often a lumpectomy will be enough. There is a thaiVisa sponsor that does phone calls for people. Farangcall.com I believe.

Good luck and please do tell her about my step-mom, so many Thai people assume cancer is a death sentence when it doesn't have to be.

[Sheryl]

The 30 baht scheme will cover her treatment, but I am not sure it would cover reconstructive surgery. As to the quality, it will depend upon the hospital. But I imagine for something this major that she would be referred to a regional hospital, whioch should be fine as far as medical quality goes. Where the care is usually poor is in terms of interpersonal communication between doctor and patient (this can be bad even in private Thai hospitals).

Surgery is unavoidable (unless she wants to die..or the cancer has already metastatsized to other parts of the body) but there are options as to the type of surgery. It depends tho on the extent of the cancer. What were the biopsy results? Any lymph node involvement? The less extensive surgical procedures usually involve a combination of radiation, chemo and surgery.

What I suggest you do, which will not cost too much, is have her get a copy of the biopsy results and medical records from the government hospital (by Thai law they have to provide it to the patient on request) and have her come to Bangkok with you for a second opinion from a doctor at one of the international hospitals where they are more attuned to the importance of explaining things to the patient clearly and interactively. If she agrees you or your brother could sit in on the consultation and have it explained in both English and Thai. Ask the doctor to tell her specifically what will happen if she does not have the surgery, and also to tell her about reconstructive options (with photos to see the result) and what type(s) of surgical procedures can be done and what additional treatments (radiation, chemo) each would need to have done with it. A consultation like this will only set you back about 1000 Baht. The following is a female Thai doctor specializing in breast cancer at Bumrungrad:

Dr. Youwanush Kongdan

Good luck

[khun_j]

hi,

sorry, can´t contribute anyrhing to the 30bt health program, BUT it is essential she won´t keep in her shell.

she should get a second opinion about the mastectomy - really!!! i had bc 6 years ago, mine was a very aggressive sort (didn´t look too good at the time), with a few lumps - not only could the breast be saved, but i as well. so make her know, that bc can be treated very well, and mastectomy is very often NOT needed as though the first doc says it! i had breast-saving op, chemo and radiation + antioestrogens. no trace left of the %&%&(&$ bc!

wish her all the best and pls tell her, that it can really be treated. i didn´t think so 6 years ago and am going strong today

[flyer]

I have been very close to someone who was diagnosed a quite aggressive breast cancer which got the appropriate treatment and this person lived another 13 years before she died of another disease unfortunately. Form haveing followed all the developments almost day by day i would give the following comments:

1. Time is life saving. So don't let anyone keep you hanging around and wait. Get a specialist who is a fighter and will take appropriate action, not wait and see.

2. The person who has a breast cancer should realize that it is serious, but can be cured in a majority oif cases. Only she must be willing to fight back and let herself be put down. Some treaments are agressive and heavy to go trough and you need a strong will to survive and win to get trough them.

3. If a specialist recommends a mastectomy before having tried many other treatments first, then move on and go to one who knows about breast cancer. Mastectomy (there are more or less serious levels of it) is the LAST resort if nothing else can get your cancer stabilized in one way or the other. Time is of vital importance when you don't do anything to it, but if you have a treatment and it seems to be effective then let time and the treatment do its work.

4. Stop taking any anticonception pills if you do take any. IN most cases they help tumors to grow .

5. surgery can be done to remove one or more tumors from the breast without any visible damage to it after the operation except for a few small scars that are almost invisible. The breasts keep their original shape. Ideally have the operation conducted by one surgeon to remove the tumors and a plastic surgeon who will cut trough the skin in the right way and sew it back so that you can't see anything.

6. IN case everything else fails and mastectomy is required, discuss in detail the need for reconstruction. Reconstruction is not at all that nice, and many women finally choose to stay without and accept the way they are. It is more a mental problem then a plastic problem. IN case reconstruction is decided, don't do it at the same time of the mastectomy. This is somthing that some surgeons propose and often gives very bad results. have the mastectomy first, wait for many months to see if that has really cured the cancer? then consider a reconstruction by a specialized plastic surgeon and take your time for it.

Be strong and good luck .

[jfchandler]

I posted this elsewhere recently...not realizing this very on-topic thread existed here... All of the comment and advice above was very helpful.... Thanks...

Maybe some one of you has had a Thai GF or wife go thru this, and can offer some information....

I was dating a lady living in Pattaya toward the end of last year, mid-20s from the North, working in a low-level office job after having moved from BKK to find work. She's a sweetheart... So everything was going well for us after a month or two dating together.

Then Christmas time came, and I had to fly back to the U.S. for the holiday. And when I came back in early Jan., I found from her that she had just left Pattaya to go back to her home city to stay with her family. While I was away, she'd gone to get tested and was diagnosed with breast cancer (tumors) in one of her breasts.

In any event, she's been home for the past 6 months, going for monthly chemotherapy treatments (at Lampang), and she's lost her hair because of those, and they make her sick for some days after each treatment. Her female doctor, she tells me, is talking to her about needing to do some kind of breast surgery, though she's not clear about how much/what kind. And as best as I can tell from listening to her, they don't seem to be telling her much of anything in the way of medical details. In fact, she says the other medical staff say the doctor is known for being good, but extremely uncommunicative.

Here's my question: all of the medical care she's getting thus far is being covered through the Thai health care card, the one that gives low-income Thai people medical treatment for a very small co-payment. What I'm trying to figure out is, how far will that health coverage go??? And will it pay for breast reconstruction, or they'll just do the removal surgery and leave her on her own???

In talking to her today on the telephone, she mentioned that the health coverage will cover the surgery itself, but not at the cancer hospital where she's been getting chemo treatment. Instead, for the surgery itself, they're telling her she'll have to go to the smaller hospital in her home town, in order for Thai health to cover it. So that kind of thing makes me wonder, just how much Thai health will do.

Thanks much...

[Sheryl]

It will completely cover her treatment (surgery + chemo). But what I don't know is whether it eill cover reconstructive breast surgery. Does anyone else know?

You could also try asking one of the links mentioned in this thread.

Good luck.

[Garret]

My Mother came to live with my wife and I in Pranburi three years ago. The last week of August I took her to Bangkok General for a mamogram and they found a mass...all three of us paniced and we headed for California where she has health insurance in the form of a h.m.o.........so we have seen all the doctors and her choices were a lumpectomy with 30 treatments of radiation or a masectomy with no radiation or chemo...I was shocked to learn that both treatments are out patient proceadures, with the possibility of one night in the hospital if there are complications......I was also shocked at how widespread breast cancer .... My Mom is fortunate in that she has the most common and most treatable of all breast cancers and she is in stage one, this monday is her operation and we will know more then.....SO do not panic like I did, get the facts so you know what you are facing......Good Luck. Garett.

[FBN]

hi people. my big bros gf has just been diagnosed with the big bad c and we're both climbing the walls trying to get info. neither of us has the cash to go private at the moment and i just need to know what care she can get on her healthcare card. does the 30 baht scheme cover breast cancer? ive trawled the net and cant find a def answer. time is of the essence as it really is serious. 2 lumps in the left and 4 in the right. this is a good woman and the world is a better place with her in it. help us out please. im really ######in scared for my brother if she dies. hes a good man and has put up with a lot in the last few years. please help us out. i spoke to a doc on the phone a few minutes ago and he was so vague about the options i really dont know what to do. sorry to lower the mood but im in pieces right now. any docs or nurses on this forum? give us a hand ?

I may have missed something here but 2 lumps in one breast and 4 in the other ALL diagnosed as breast Ca? Was this confirmed by biopsy or any other specific diagnostic test?

Breast Ca presents mostly as a SINGLE nodule with a very specific feel to it. Breats CA does not present as multiple nodules in both breasts. Even at an advance stage, it metastasises to brain, lung and bone commonly but NOT locally (to the other breast or within the same breast as separate nodules).

Please get a mammogram done, have an experienced doctor examine her and then do FNB (fine needle biopsies) or other way of getting the diagnosis done as recommended by the doc. Breast ca is not uncommon in Thai so there are good docs out there.

I get a feeling of a bit of Cancer hysteria here rather than a level headed approach.

Again, not enough info to be comfortable of the diagnosis in the post but I sincerely hope that it is not so..