After Ananda Lewis’ Death: What Black Women Need To Know About Alternative Breast Cancer Treatments - Page 4

Expensive costs for traditional and alternative cancer treatment can be a barrier.

Dr. Cary Gross, founder and director of Yale School of Medicine’s Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, says it’s no surprise that many patients hesitate to pursue chemotherapy. Beyond the fear of difficult side effects, the cost alone can be a major deterrent. Some procedures are “ridiculously expensive,” Gross told HuffPost on June 12, noting that many people with cancer also struggle with mistrust—both in the medical system and the motivations behind certain treatment recommendations. 

For those with health insurance, out-of-pocket costs for chemotherapy typically range from 10% to 15% of the total bill, according to CostHelper.com. But for uninsured patients, treatment can cost anywhere from $10,000 to over $200,000, depending on the type of cancer, the stage of disease, and the medications involved. 

Alternative medicine isn’t necessarily a cheaper route either. According to the National Institutes of Health, Americans spend an estimated $30.2 billion each year out-of-pocket—without insurance coverage—on alternative health approaches, including visits to chiropractors or massage therapists, as well as vitamins and dietary supplements. 

While some insurance companies may cover select alternative treatments like homeopathy or naturopathy, coverage is generally limited. The American Cancer Society notes that insurers typically only reimburse for treatments that are proven to be safe, effective, and medically necessary for a specific condition. If an alternative therapy lacks strong evidence of benefit, it’s unlikely to be covered.

“I’ve seen patients mortgage their home, drain their entire finances for presumably magic bullets that they’ve seen online,” Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a breast oncologist at NYU Langone Hospital, revealed to ABC News during an interview published June 14.

Lewis experienced the financial roadblocks that come with cancer treatment firsthand.

“I felt I was doing well, and my doctors agreed,” she recalled to Essence. But then the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. With limited options available in California due to lockdowns and overwhelmed healthcare systems, she traveled to Arizona, where clinics remained open. 

There, she underwent 16 weeks of integrative cancer therapy that included acupuncture, genetically targeted low-dose chemotherapy, and cryoablation—an FDA-approved procedure that kills cancer cells by freezing them with injected gas.

The results were encouraging: Lewis’ cancer regressed from Stage 3 to Stage 2, her lymph nodes cleared, and her tumor shrank significantly. But the treatments came at a steep price. Without insurance coverage for much of the care, she was forced to pause her therapies for more than two years to focus on supporting herself and her son.

“I struggled to pay for the ongoing treatments that would have kept things at bay, and then I lost my insurance. It was two and a half years before I could really do any more effective treatment. I needed to find work. I stopped focusing on the cancer because there were more pressing concerns, even though that sounds crazy to say,” she explained.

By 2023, her cancer progressed to Stage 4.