In the past 20 years, malignant neoplasms has been the top cause of death in Hong Kong, and the number of local cancer cases is also on the rise. In addition to maintaining a healthy lifestyle to prevent cancer, it is necessary to avoid risks due to financial loss caused by medical expenses. When choosing medical insurance, one of the crucial things to pay attention to is the amount of compensation for radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is an important part of cancer treatment. Generally, there are three application methods, including:
Radical treatment: irradiating a tumor with radiotherapy equipment is the main method of curing cancer.
Neoadjuvant radiotherapy: shrink a tumor before surgery to increase the success rate of tumor removal, or remove residual cancer cells after surgery to prevent cancer recurrence or metastasis to other sites.
Palliative radiotherapy: It can alleviate the discomfort caused by cancer, such as relieving pain, reducing bleeding or relieving the obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract.
Radiotherapy requires oncologists, radiologists and radiation therapists to jointly formulate the most appropriate treatment plan, considering factors such as the type, location and size of a tumor. Therefore, the cost of a radiotherapy can be high.
Take lung cancer with the highest incidence rate in Hong Kong as an example. If you receive 15 radiotherapy treatments at the HK Sanatorium & Hospital, the cost can be as high as HK$130,380. You will also have to pay other medical expenses, including hospitalization and examination fees. The number of treatments varies with different treatment plans and ranges from 25 to 30 times. Therefore, it is roughly estimated that the medical expenses is not far from half a million, and the loss of income during treatment should also be taken into account.
Although the cost of radiotherapy in public hospitals in Hong Kong is cheaper than private hospitals, the waiting period is a consideration. Therefore, when purchasing medical insurance, you should read carefully whether the scope of coverage includes radiotherapy and the relevant amount, and consider the insurance premium that you can bear.
Then, choose the insured amount and insurance plan that suit you, so that you can receive appropriate treatment timely without worrying about medical expenses in the face of sudden illness. If you do not have medical insurance coverage yet, discuss with your insurance agent for more information.
Reference:
HKSH Department of Radiotherapy - Fees & Charges
HKSH Department of Radiotherapy - Cancer sites
Hong Kong Cancer Registry
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