Radiation: The Scrapbook Layout, Treatment Info, and Final Bill

I had external beam radiation therapy for breast cancer between August 5-23, 2024. Each day, I drove to the Cancer Center in the next city over, put on my hospital bracelet, let myself into the locker room, changed into a gown, and then waited to be called for treatment. Sometimes fellow patients were in the locker room and we would talk; I loved getting to meet other women going through the same thing. About a third of the time I was alone in the locker room. On those days, I would read the messages previous patients had posted on the bulletin board, or flip through the cards a group of local high school students had made, all of which offered encouragement to those of us going through treatment. Treatments took 10 minutes, then it was back to the locker room, where I put on my street clothes and tucked my hospital bracelet in my purse. Then I went home, where I hydrated, moisturized, and rested before resuming my day. 

While the radiation treatments themselves weren't bad, they left me fatigued and with swollen, red, and raw skin in the treated area. I had to start using the seatbelt pillows that I'd thought I wouldn't need again after I recovered from surgery. I went through two tubes of calendula cream. (That's an affiliate link because you should get some if you don't already have it on hand. In addition to treating radiation burns, it is great for treating cuts, scrapes, and sunburns.) But the money I spent on calendula cream was offset by the money I didn't spend on deodorant, as I wasn't allowed to use it throughout treatment. (In August, in California.)

This is the scrapbook page I made to document my experience with radiation. 

Radiation (affiliate link)

As you can see, I used photos of my seatbelt pillows, calendula cream, and no deodorant as embellishments for my page. I handwrite my journaling 99.5% of the time, but for this layout I typed it in order to squeeze in as much of the story as possible. I earned three points for the Scrappin' Banshees: one point each for 3+ photos, a title, and washi tape. I originally had metallic paper on the page to earn the 4th point, but I didn't like the shine for this topic. 

I recently received a summary of my radiation treatment. I started with a CT scan and initial consultation with my radiation oncologist. She prescribed: Rt. Breast Volume 4005 267, 3D Conformal photon 15x, photon 6x, once daily. So my daily dose of radiation was 267 cGy and my total was 4005 cGy. I saw the oncologist three times during treatment. Care to guess the total cost for this treatment?

My out-of-pocket cost was zero. No copays, no deductable, nothing at all for the entire radiation treatment. My insurance paid the negotiated rate of $11,037. Without insurance, it would have been $66,142.08. Crazy. My heart breaks for patients who end up with massive medical debt. Cancer is hard enough to deal with physically and emotionally without financial disaster on top of it.