How much will a patient pay? One of the first questions that all patients and their sponsors ask us is to give them an estimate of how much financing their cancer treatment will cost. It is difficult to provide such an estimate if the patient has not been assessed. The reason for this is that every cancer treatment protocol has to be worked out for each individual patient, because no two patients will have the exact same kind of cancer. When the case management team at Sweden Ghana Medical Centre sends you a quote for treatment, they work closely with the Oncology team to understand the type of treatment you will need. It is also important to know that your medical needs may change as you have treatment, depending on your health status. Please click on the attached infographic to better understand how treatment is priced.
Download How Much Will It Cost Infographic (pdf)
Kindly note that each patient case differs in costs depending on a personal treatment regime.
What is the patient paying for? As a patient or sponsor, the costs that you will pay at Sweden Ghana Medical Centre for cancer treatments such as radiotherapy, brachytherapy and chemotherapy will vary depending on the type of cancer being treated, the drugs and where we buy them, and how often and how long you will need treatment. Two-thirds of our patients are women. A course of cancer treatment for women is usually 10 weeks of therapy. Therapy for men is often shorter—around 8 weeks. Our treatment packages include the cost of specialist consultations, medical lab tests, diagnostic imaging, 3D dose planning by medical physicists, as well as drugs and radiation treatment protocols. If you are coming from outside of Ghana, you will need to include the cost of somewhere to stay during extended treatment, and general living expenses.
How does the patient pay for treatment? When you first contact Sweden Ghana Medical Cancer Centre, you will be assigned your personal case coordinator. He or she will draw up your treatment quotation and carefully explain each of the costs. Our goal is to help you make the financing arrangements you will need, and we allow patients to pay for treatment with direct wire transfers, with cash or cheques, and with Visa.
Comparing costs for private cancer care. As a private, modern cancer centre, Sweden Ghana Medical Centre’s pricing for our premium treatment services that we offer cancer patients compares favorably with the costs charged in similar facilities in Africa. For patients who are seeking treatment abroad, it is good to know that our cancer treatments at Sweden Ghana Medical Centre offer greater value, and you have the benefit of being treated in a familiar cultural environment. For example, when we compare:
- In the UK, a private consultation with a cancer specialist will cost around £300 for each visit, and each chemotherapy cycle will cost you over £2000. The average number of cycles needed is six.
- In the USA, radiation therapy can cost $10,000-$50,000 or more, depending on the type of cancer you have, the number of treatments (radiotherapy fractions) you will need, and especially the type of radiation used.
- In Canada, the average costs for prostate and breast cancer radiotherapy treatments range from between $5,500 to $14,500.
- In India, the cost of three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (DCRT), stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) lies between $800 and $1500 per fraction cycle of treatment.
One thing you can be sure of is that the case management and oncology teams at Sweden Ghana Medical Centre will work with you to determine the most affordable and practical treatment regimen that will give you the best outcomes. Please click the infographic attached for more information on how treatment is priced.