ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How Do Oncologists Make Money?

Updated on March 14, 2016

The Cost is Staggering

Nearly 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in the United States is spent on health care. A large chunk of this money is used to fight cancer.

The annual cost for cancer diagnosis and treatment is estimated to be about $125 billion and climbing.

New drugs are continually coming onto the market and many of them carry a very high price tag. Some oral chemotherapy pills may run about $10,000 a month, and patients often take these medications for the rest of their lives.

Many people are rightly horrified when they discover that cancer is an extremely profit-driven industry. We've been conditioned to view doctors and hospitals as altruistic health care partners that exist for the sake of saving lives, regardless of the bottom line.

We also tend to disregard the financial incentive when it comes to oncologists prescribing multiple rounds of chemotherapy, even when it's clear these drugs aren't going to bring about a cure.

Drugs given through a chemo port are not dispensed at the corner drugstore. There is no middleman, which, in this case, would be a safeguard. The doctor buys these drugs directly from the pharmaceutical firm and then sells them to the patient, typically at a staggering markup.

By one estimate, about 70 percent of an oncologist's salary is from drug sales. The average oncologist makes $285,000 a year, according to a publication known as the 2011 Physician Compensation Report. However, this amount of compensation varies widely, depending upon where a doctor is employed. Those working in big city medical centers pull in about $375,000 in annual earnings.

Chemotherapy can cost $10,000 a month.
Chemotherapy can cost $10,000 a month. | Source

The Built-In Conflict of Interest

Most cancer patients put their lives into the hands of an oncologist, whom they sincerely believe will pull all stops in an effort to make them well again. They have no idea about the intimate ties the exist between their doctor and the pharmaceutical firms.

These corporate interests set the standard for health care. Doctors are schooled in the model that toxic drugs are the only answer to cancer. The efficacy of these medications is determined by large, drug-funded studies that the doctor reads in medical journals supported by pharmaceutical advertising.

There are many perks as well, as pharmaceutical firms offer lucrative speaking opportunities and free trips, such as Caribbean cruises thinly disguised as seminars.

Even if your doctor has doubts about the course of your treatment, suggesting another form of therapy, such as venturing into the realm of alternative medicine, is strictly outlawed. Even if the doctor would never submit to chemotherapy himself (in one poll, 81 percent of Canadian oncologists who treated lung cancer patients said they wouldn't), this "standard of care" is all they can legally offer.

However, two countries in particular, Mexico and Germany, don't have laws that prevent the use of various alternative treatments, sparking a thriving medical tourism industry, in which American and some European cancer patients elect to seek care outside the country.

Chemotherapy Doesn't Cure Metastatic Cancer

Despite the fact that chemotherapy doesn't cure metastatic cancer, and all oncologists know this, highly toxic drugs are often given, despite the fact they won't lead to recovery. There's also a growing body of evidence showing these drugs may harm the patient by compromising their immune system, and allowing the tumors to grow faster.

Although the doctor may honestly believe the chemo may help the patient by giving him "hope," as he comes to term with his mortality, there's also the built-in problem that terminal cancer patients are highly profitable customers.

Patients with advanced cancer are often seen in an oncologist's office. They are also given many medications and diagnostic procedures in the last months of their lives.

An honest doctor will tell them that these measures, at best, are only palliative.

Expensive, high-tech cancer care.
Expensive, high-tech cancer care. | Source

Cancer Care and Hospitals

This year more than 1.6 million Americans will learn they have cancer, a disease that now affects between 33-50 percent of the population at some point in their lives, depending upon whether they are male or female. Women have a slightly lower risk of cancer, compared to men.

Cancer patients typically visit hospitals for a variety of in-patient and out-patient procedures, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and lab work. Chemotherapy patients often receive a shot of Neulasta, a drug to raise their white blood cell count so they aren't as susceptible to infection. This medication may run as high as $15,000 a dose, because it's delivered in a hospital setting.

Most hospitals now have special cancer centers with sophisticated technology where patients receive chemotherapy and radiation.

Video on the Cancer Industry

Stories of Abuse Starting to Surface

Recently, in Detroit, Michigan, an oncologist who practiced at a string of cancer centers he owned, was arrested on the charge that he gave chemotherapy to people who didn't need it, some of whom did not even have cancer because he misdiagnosed them. He is also accused of administering unnecessary treatments to patients in remission.

In one instance, according to published reports, he told a 76-year-old woman with lung cancer, which carries a particularly poor prognosis, that she had a 70 percent chance of beating the disease if she had treatments. However, she died within a few months.

Cancer care is a lucrative business.
Cancer care is a lucrative business. | Source

Patients Continue to Suffer

This profiteering is now being shouldered by a very sick and desperate population. Insurers are demanding that patients foot part of the bill in the form of higher co-pays. These add up, and, combined with lost wages, can force a family into financial ruin. Medical bills are a leading cause of bankruptcy.

For instance, one relatively new prostate cancer drug can cost upwards of $6,000 a month and some patients have trouble obtaining coverage.

The real tragedy is that these expensive treatments are often ineffective, closing off avenues that might have helped. Some patients plan to exhaust conventional therapies before turning to alternative treatments, which many survivors report have allowed them to regain their health. However, this may not be an option to someone who's already been through the system, because the standard treatments exact a heavy toll on their body and on their wallet.

Disclaimer

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are not meant to diagnose‚ treat or cure any disease or medical condition.

This is intended as an educational and informational article, and is not to be construed as medical advice. People with health concerns should consult a licensed medical practitioner. The author claims no responsibility for treatment decisions or outcomes.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)