Many families in America have been affected by medical bills and costly prescription medications associated with Serious Illness. People say that you can’t put a price tag on human life, but can you reach the point where you are just preventing the inevitable? Where holding on for just a few years or months is going to produce years of financial hardship on your family?

As horrible as it seems, there are people who have and will be faced with a decision such as this one. Experts at the Medco Drug Trend Report say that in the last year the cost of biotech drugs to treat serious or terminally ill patients rose 22%. Even with a good health care provider or Medicare, patients can easily spend over $10,000 in the first year on prescription medication. According to a report in the journal Cancer, one in five patients miss or delay treatment because of financial complications and if uninsured, nearly 70% miss or delay treatment and 43% went without vital medication.

Frank Beck is 62 years old and is suffering from an advanced form colon cancer that usually claims its victims in less than 2 years. In an interview in USA Today Frank said, “You add all these things up and you say, how can I justify that? Am I taking money away from everybody else just so I can be around a little longer? …My children tell me I’m worth it, but I don’t know.” Frank cost his health care plan and family more than $150,000 in his first six months of therapy and estimates that he has paid more than $12,000 out-of-pocket towards his treatments and medication. Frank has also had to finance several of the treatments he has taken.

Despite Frank’s apprehension towards his high health care costs he plans to continue to fight the cancer to be true to his families wishes. “I told him the best thing that we could ever have is him alive,” said Liliani Beck (Franks daughter), to USA Today. Frank walks 2 miles a day to keep his strength up and stay in the best shape possible.

Health care costs are hard to combat because the United States is the only modern country that does not have price controls on their prescription medication. Alan Holmer, the president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America says, “The principal problem with price controls is you have limitations on access to medicines, and you don’t have the newest most innovative treatments.” But when asked in a report by ABC’s John McKenzie, “representatives of the pharmaceutical industry could only identify eight drugs not available on Canadian shelves, and three of those are contraceptives.” On top of not having price controls, the pocket books of American drug companies are so deep, they have a heavy influence on the laws that are passed. Even Dan Burton, the state representative from Indiana said, “There’s no question in my mind that the (FDA) is too dependent on the pharmaceutical industry for their attitudes and decision-making.”

The burden of high priced medication can be lightened by a new company called http://ePharmacies.com. http://ePharmacies.com is a pharmacy resource website that will help you locate the cheapest online pharmacies to help cut down your prescription cost. The owner, Cary Byrd said, “We want to help people that are in a strenuous financial situation to be able to get the prescriptions that they need. No one should have to go without their medication because of the outrageous price of prescription medication here in the United States. It’s like kicking someone while there down.”

Softening deep acne scars resulting from severe bouts of cystic or nodular lesions requires a well thought out cosmetic corrective plan. And according to reports in Dermatologic Surgery, popularized scar removal options like laser resurfacing may not satisfactorily smooth away deep acne scars. Yet, patients can readily witness scar depth reductions in indented acne scaring using aesthetic therapies such as dermal fillers.

Silicon based dermal fillers

In a 30-year perspective study of using dermal fillers to correct acne scars, doctors Jay Barnett and Channing Barnett deemed medical-grade liquid silicone the only filler substance that permanently and precisely corrects acne scars. During their investigation, the researchers reviewed the lives of five patients with a history of acne scarring. Each patient showed improvements from injections of liquid silicone at the initial treatment session and at 10-, 15-, and 30-year follow-up sessions.

Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers

Even though silicon based dermal fillers work, heavily marketed fillers made of hyaluronic acid also present a potential deep acne scarring corrective. While the results from dermal fillers can prove pleasantly dramatic, in the case of hyaluronic acid, the enhancements may only last six months. Moreover, most Food and Drug Administration approved dermal fillers like Perlane have only been tested on and prescribed for correction of nasal labial folds, not acne scars that can arise on multiple areas of the face.

Calcium-based dermal fillers

In a study published in the Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy, investigators tested a dermal filler composed of calcium hydroxylapatite to treat acne scars. Researchers used the filler to correct both round or saucerized acne scars, and deep acne scars with a sharp triangular shaped called “ice-pick” scars. After administering the dermal filler to ten patients with various types of acne scarring, the investigators found that only saucerized acne scars responded well to the treatment. Scar improvements lasted up to twelve months in some volunteers.

How to select a dermal filler

While dermal fillers offer dazzling results, they aren’t cheap. And typically, the longer the filler lasts, the more expensive the treatment. Dermal injections can run from $300 to $2000 for treated area so plan to spend smartly. Moreover, a dermal injection is only as aesthetically beautiful as the professional delivering the shot.

When seeking a dermal injection, seek a professional possessing experience with correcting deep acne scars with dermal fillers. Finally, when using a dermal injection, make certain that you have your acne outbreaks under control because dermal injections are contraindicated for facial areas experiencing pain or inflammation, including pimples.

Sources:

Barnett, Jay %26 Channing Barnett. Treatment of Acne Scars with Liquid Silicone Injections: 30-Year Perspective. Dermatologic Surgery, November 2005; vol 31, no 4, pp 1542-1549.

Food and Drug Administration. Perlane Injectable Gel – P040024s006 Labeling. May 2, 2007. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/pdf4/p040024s006c.pdf

Goldberg, David; Snehal Amin %26 Mussarrat Hussein. Acne scar correction using calcium hydroxylapatite in a carrier-based gel. Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy, September 2006; vol 8, no 3, pp. 134-136.

Woo, S; J Park %26 %26 Y Kye. Resurfacing of Different Types of Facial Acne Scar With Short-Pulsed, Variable-Pulsed, and Dual-Mode Er:YAG Laser. Dermatologic Surgery, April 2004; vol 30, no 4, pp 488-493.