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G_j

(40,366 posts)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 12:48 PM Apr 2013

Sequestration Forces Cancer Clinic Patients To Travel Thousands Of Miles For Treatment

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2013/04/09/sequestration-cancer-clinics_n_3045108.html?icid=hp_search_art


by Sam Stein


WASHINGTON -- Some cancer patients enrolled in clinical trials in rural areas will have to travel thousands of miles to continue their treatments as a byproduct of spending cuts brought on by the sequester.

Last week, The Washington Post reported that cancer clinics were starting to turn away Medicare patients because the cost of administering chemotherapy drugs had risen significantly under sequestration.

Those patients were left seeking treatments at local hospitals that still had the capacity to provide care.

But the situation is much more complicated and dire when it comes to cancer patients taking part in clinical trials. Because those patients are part of small groups involved in drug development research, their options for supplemental care are limited. In some cases, cancer patients in rural areas may be forced to travel all the way across the country to get the treatment they need.

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