Hi All,

I just go the cost from Chemo for Bella and they said 4-6 session at a cost of $800-850 a session which includes the office vist, blood work and carboplatin.  Does this seem normal or on the high side? 

Thanks,

Karen and Bella

That is about the same rate that I paid for carboplatin for my Honey.  We paid approx. $800 per treatment.  We are located in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I can't remember where this post is but I remember we had a forum topic where people posted their area, surgery cost and chemo cost.  It seemed like based on location, the cost varied quite a bit.  I will try and search for that post.

I hope all goes well for Bella today…we are thinking of her and your family.

Angel Honeygurl's pack

Oh, perfect!  Yes that is the post I was referring to!

We paid about $500 per treatment – Holly's about 30 pounds and I think some of that cost is dependent on weight.  So for a dog Bella's size that could be similar to our cost.  

We're glad to hear Bella's out of surgery and are keeping paws and fingers crossed that all goes really well with her recovery!!

Hugs,
Holly, Zuzu and Susan 

I should clarify that that the $650 to +$700 was per session.

I'm in the LA area and we paid about $700 – $750 per carboplatin treatment (I'm trying to remember if it included the vet visit, technician fee, bloodwork, etc.) All I know is that we paid a lot.   We take Mackenzie to a specialist cancer group so it tends to be pricier.  So your quote sounds pretty much in line with larger city vets. 

Good luck with everything!

Kami, Mackenzie & Kobe 

Karen and Bella,

When it comes to total cost, I quit adding up the bills when it hit $13,000.00. However, Miss Cherry's diagnosis was very poor with far more complications than I have ever detailed here. It is true, that the cost will depend upon the weight of the patient because of the amount of the chemicals needed. You should also know that the cost of these chemicals and the corresponding toxic waist desposal is going up substancially. Our local vet is also a very good personal friend. (She just finished a half marathon with my wife.) She told us that cost of the chemicals increased by more than 50% from Cherry's last treatment to Fall of LAST YEAR! That is 50% in just nine months. I do not know if they have continued to rise since then, but I would have to say that your cost is not inconsistent with my expectation. Also, it should also depend upon what additonal work is done. If all they do is put in the chemicals and dispose of the waist as compared to a more complete examination with xrays to see if Mets have developed inspite of the chemicals, then you should expect a smaller bill. However, we always opted for the more complete work from our oncologist team because we needed to monitor the effects on Miss Cherry's other complications.

A very long post to say – depending upon the work, todays cost for the chemicals, and the location, I would NOT find this cost/treatment excessive.

Spirit Cherry's Dad