My TGF's niece has just been diagnosed with leukemia.

Heavy stuff and I wondered how much treatment will cost (in Bangkok)

Depends entirely on where she goes. Treatment at a major government hospital should be nominal cost, and if you run into problems (ex: needs something not covered under the 30 Baht scheme) each such hospital has a social servcies dept which has the authority to approve a sliding scale of payment ( or no payment) based on ability to pay. Thais tend to feel they lose face by applying and to underutilize this option.

The difficulty would be if she does not respond to the standard treatments. The government hospitals do not have some of the very newest drugs, and they are quite expensive. But cross that bridge when and if you come to it.

Depends on the type of leukemia, but generally the forms that afflict children and adolescents have a good prognosis with proper treatment...so it is worthwhile to be aggressive in getting her to Bangkok ASAP and making sure she gets prompt care.

If she doesn't respond to the treatment given, the family should be sure to ask the doctors if there are any other treatments that would help. In my experience, Thai doctors (especially in government hospitals) will not even mention the existence of other treatments if they think the patient can't afford it or it is not available in their hospital.

Hopefully, however, she will respond to conventional therapy. If financial hardships do occur, either due to treatment or the costs of the family needing to stay in Bangkok a long time, do a web search of charities that aid sick children. There are some in Thailand and also some inetrnational ones that will assist regardless of the country. Good luck.

My TGF's niece has just been diagnosed with leukemia.

Heavy stuff and I wondered how much treatment will cost (in Bangkok)

Thankyou for the information.

Getting full details on the prognosis is difficult as my GF's english isnt too great and I'm in England just now.

I know i'll end up paying for the treatment and wondered what a ballpark figure would be.

Makes me wonder if health insurance for her family is a good idea.

Are they by any chance covered under the Thai Social Security plan? (would be if employed by government, also some private employers). If so this should cover the costs.

If not...no doubt you'll end up paying but to keep the costs within reason make sure they fully utilize the available government benefits. As Thais they are entitled to treatment at a government hospital and for reduced costs if jsutified by need. Be sure they have explored those avenues (including appealing to the hospital social services department) before you shell out. As I mentioned, there is a strong cultural aversion to applying but as you no doubt already know, no cultural aversion at all to askin g a foreign friend/relation for cash.

If they do as above and if treatment is in a government hospital then I think it can be kept below $500 US over a year unless she needs a bone marrow transplant, in which case I don't have any idea. This does not however factor in the need to travel to and stay in Bangkok, which they will have to do. Hopefully they have relatives to stay with.

Regarding insurance, you can do it but it won';t help with the leukemia as insurance companies usually exclude pre-existing conditions.

Thankyou for the information.

Getting full details on the prognosis is difficult as my GF's english isnt too great and I'm in England just now.

I know i'll end up paying for the treatment and wondered what a ballpark figure would be.

Makes me wonder if health insurance for her family is a good idea.