For those of you taking Zytiga how did you afford it?
Zytiga cost: For those of you taking... - Advanced Prostate...
Zytiga cost
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Pappamike
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Check out the Janssen CarePath Savings Program. My MO'S office helped me with this. If your med insurance company will pay part, Janssen might cover your copay. I am lucky to have this work for me. Just started Zytiga with Prednisone two days ago. Newly diagnosed in January with G9 spread to pelvic lymph glands and two pelvic Mets. On Lupron. No radiation.
Hi Braddockroad. My Dx is almost exact the same as yours. Been on 6mo Lupron, Zytega, and Prednisone since March. No radiation, no surgery. PSA down to 0.1 this week from 140 on March. I hope you do well with the treatment.
Newly diagnosed a month ago with lesions in the pelvic bone area. Started initially on Firmagon 2 1/2 weeks ago, with no significant side effects. Will be starting with the same three drugs as you within the next 10 days. What have been your side effects on this protocol?
The only side effects I really notice are the hot flashes and fatigue. Both completely manageable and in perspective, nothing to complain about. No question that strong exercise is the best for fatigue. Weird but true. My tests always show high liver activity but my MO is not too concerned at this point. She told me to avoid alcohol (she caught me there, ha ha!) and Tylenol. Good luck with the treatment. Stay positive and strong 💪🏽.
Great PSA results! I was at 30; now at 0.5. Hopefully, Zytiga will get me to undetectable.
Great!! Good for you chillywilly. I am afraid Zytiga did not start to work with me. I hope it works or you for years!!
I'm on the exact regiment just turned six months PSA is undetectable in one month all blood work normal. Side effects are not that bad if you can live with little to know libido it's a good trade off to keep on living.
Never give up never surrender.Leo
I’m diagnosed wit locally advanced prostate disease( don’t want to even give it a name). May be hormone resistant ( Lupron pAst 8 months)
Radiation oncologist wants to start radiation n nentioned Zytiga. How come u haven’t done radiation? I’m hesitant bout it
Was lucky enough to have good insurance which paid for mine. Would've struggled otherwise. Same for Lupron, Provenge, Chemo, Radium 223,...etc.
Yes Monty B. Apart from anything else PCa is an expensive problem. You may be able to contain it for years if you are filthy rich. I am not!!
Like MontyB, I am fortunate enough to have insurance that pays for all but $25 for each 30-day refill. Don’t know what I’d do w/o it.
go to the manufacturers website most will pay copay except for $10
I am in Australia and my Zytiga is provided under the Governments Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and cost me A$6.40. There are some qualifying requirements for PBS approval. Fortunately I qualify otherwise the cost would be $A3604.58.....that price is actually printed on the box under the heading “Full Cost”.
Hi Chask, We are also Australian (Adelaide). My partner was diagnosed with Gleeson 8 prostate cancer on the 21st December 2018. Its in the lymph nodes - radical prostate surgery when he gets back from skiing in Japan with the guys - to prepare he says 
Then he will have the "kitchen sink" thrown at him his team has said that he is very fit, 56 and very positive.
We are a little confused as to costs and would like a heads up before we discuss with his specialist in a week. Is there any medicare website that you know of that tells you what drugs and how much they will pay for. We also have private health, but I'm not sure if they will pay for anything. Many thanks, Maria.
Hi Maria, don’t know of a single site that will give al,those details. This site pbs.gov.au/industry/listing... gives the requirements for Zytiga and you can also use the pbs.gov.au site to look for other drugs you may be prescribed. That will tell you if they are on the pbs or if you have to pay privately.
Surgery, radiation etc are all a matter of who you see. Most specialists charge privately and what you might recover from insurance will depend on you insurance company. In my case, the surgery was private and the majority was covered by Medibank Private cover, but I had to cover a sizeable “gap” - can’t recall how much, but it was several $K. But follow up Radiation was all covered by Medicare under the public health system. My ongoing visits to the Oncologist are also covered. So total ongoing costs are zero except for medications and as I have a Seniors Health Care card, each scrip is $6.40. Hope this helps.
Chas
Thanks for that Chas. I looked up the PBS schedule and seems that most drugs are covered in Australia by the public health system with a small co-payment. We also have Medibank Private so its good to know they will pay for most of the surgery also. We might complain about Medicare in Australia but its still one of the best in the world! Good luck - stay positive. Maria
Maria, on a slightly different note, can I urge you and your partner to take a long hard look at what might be the best course of action for you before you jump into surgery. One of the problems all newly diagnosed men have is that they are usually referred to a Urologist and they will nearly always suggest immediate surgery before even considering alternative options, and the long term consequences of each.
I am not suggesting surgery is wrong (that is what I had) and I do understand the emotive response of “get this thing out of me” but there may be other options. Brachytherapy for instance where the prostate is fried from the inside by radiation. To understand that thoroughly you need to talk to a Radiation specialist.
All I am suggesting, is don’t take the surgery route before considering alternatives and considering the long term consequences of each type of treatment. Your partner is fairly young and will need to live with his decision, hopefully for a very long time and you need to go into this fully informed.
It is too easy to be railroaded into the first and seemingly most obvious treatment.
Good luck with whatever you may decide.
Hi Chas. Thanks for that. I agree. The Radiologist said no surgery - have radiation instead. But then they have a meeting where all specialists (Urologists, Radiologists and oncologists bring up "interesting cases" and they used Tony as a case study. The suggestion was surgery first - tests the lymph nodes and then radiation. We are also waiting on advice from Dr Christopher Sweeney who is expert in prostate cancer and comes to Australia to speak about best practice and new interventions etc in Australia regularly. Well regarded - have a look at some of his research dana-farber.org/find-a-doct...
Our urologist and one of my friends knows him. Waiting until my partner gets back from skiing in Japan to see what he says. But I agree - the push was to have surgery as soon as possible even before we spoke to anyone else. I work in the health field and am very aware of the saying "if the only tool you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail". The Urologist Tony is consulting used robotic surgery and the side effects are much less so that's a positive. Many thanks for you advice, Maria.
That’s great Maria. You are doing all the right things. Trust all will go well for you both.
Chas
Ditto on the CarePath program. I used it for Invokana and now for the zytiga, which I started yesterday. They will cover up to $12,000 annually in co-pay assistance. I'm on a high deductible health insurance plan, so come January it's gonna come in mighty handy.
My prescription drug plan pays for it so far. There are foundations that will get it for you if your income is below a certain level.
Pappamike.... Zytiga is relatively much cheaper in my country -India. My dad is on Xtandi however, which is quite expensive here too yet not as high as in US.
Healings and blessings...
What is the cost of zytiga and xtandi in India?
Zytiga costs about Rs. 20 000 (US $ 285) per month )60 pills of 500 mgx two per day. , just about manageable, but Xtandi is Rs. 72 000 (US $ 1030 ) per 128 pills (27 pills x 4 a day). Unfortunately for me Zytiga did not even start working, hopefully Xtandi will. Good luck
The quote I’ve gotten is $10,000 a month from the medical oncologist- without prescription coverage.
That is really expensive! Would you like to try Indian Generics. If you need ant help in India please let me know. After all the Beast units us more than anything else!!!
Xtandi worked for me for 4 months then PSA started to rise rapidly. Now on Chemo with docetaxel together with Eligard (leuprolide) every 3 months. Absolutely fatigued!
I’m in the Stampede trial in the U.K., so it’s been free for the last 6.5 years on the NHS.
I'm from Ireland, so I got a medical card so they are free, otherwise I couldn't afford the medication
Hi Pappa in my case my Doctors and his staff are both knowledgeable and compassionate they assisted me in obtaining a grant to cover my copays through cancer advocate groups. Start researching the various grants and ask your doctor to see if they can help you with it its not that hard and will surely help with costs after all said and done between my insurance and Medicare along with my grants the roughly out of pocket costs for the Zytiga would be around $500.00 but my grant picks that up. I can't thank my Doctors and his staff enough for all of their assistance they are truly a godsend. By the way my PSA was 14.7 in February to undetectable in March Zytiga,Prednisone,Eligard injection and Xgeva injection for my bone Mets is my first line of treatments. I havent had chemo or surgery. Best of luck. Leo
are you on Medicare?
Yes
you are a very blessed soul. Can you provide a specific name of a grant provider so that I can follow-up. Thanks and stay positive.
Go on the American cancer website there are many advocate groups to ask for help. One of them is Zytiga its self they provide financial assistance. Your Doctor should be able to guide you through the process.
VA $11.00 per month.
in reply to hrinard
Same with me. I just got my first $11 bill from the VA for Zytiga. Looks like I'll be able to afford it. Just hoping it works.
When I had commercial drug insurance, Zytiga offered a card from website to greatly reduce cost. Now on a Medicare drug plan with Humana, and they cover it with the normal copays. Once you get to Level 4, it becomes a 5% copay.
Best wishes. Never Give In.
Mark, Atlanta
I fear Medicare. I have insurance i pay $30 month for dr visit and only a small copay for Zytiga/ Predisone. The monthly shots of Lupron and Xgeva are free. My wife would like to retire so Medicare is a
next step. I have assets. Can you take the time to detail your monthly total costs for Medicsre and your drug expenses. Thanks
Medicare drug plan through Humana is $20.00/month. At beginning of calendar year, your copays are high, but once you reach the last segment, Catastrophic, your copay is 5% of their retail price. For Zytiga and Xtandi, copays at top 5% are about $550 each.
In 2016, my retail drug bill with Humana was $312,000 and my copay was about $20,000. I was blessed with a Catastrophic reimbursement plan as an AT&T retiree which covered me for copays over $5,000.
You will also have to pay for basic Medicare for docs and hospitals which comes out of any Social Security, based on your most recent tax return, about $150/month. This pays 80% of covered charges, so you buy a Supplemental plan for the remaining 20% at about another $200/month depending upon plan, etc.
Hope this helps.
Mark,Atlanta
Greetings,
We have been through hell trying to get help with Zytiga costs.
We have Medicare plus a supplemental policy .
The Jansen Care Path people reserve their help for those at or below s certain income level.
Medicare pays all except for about 500 a month. When you reach a threshold with Medicare they refer to as a donut hole , the cost spirals to 3000.
VA also has an income limit and turned us down for help.
We tried every available resource.
We were turned down by all.
So assistance is seemingly income based, and we are just above that limit as I am retired, but my wife is not.
It is a huge maze to travel through financially.
We are about to start Xofigo also.
Not sure the cost of that one yet. Yes
Actually, the CarePath program isn't income based or I wouldn't qualify, but I did read the small print and Medicare and some other governmental/specific insurance programs are not included in the program. Basically it's assistance just for those with private or employer sponsored medical insurance.
Good luck with your treatment. I hope you get some help with finding the right treatment that also won't stress your finances.
You just reminded us that is why we were unable to get assistance from Care Path.
I don't understand it. I'd think that would limit the amount of assistance they would need to provide. However, it may also be that a financial assistance program like that is considered "income" or impacts medicare eligibility in some way? It's all too complicated and like being forced to find your way out of a maze in the dark.
If you are in the US try the Patient Access Network. Your doctor should be able to put though the paperwork. If not, here is the phone number 1-866-316-7263. You will need a copy of your latest IRS 1040. I am not sure what the qualifying upper limit income is. I might be somewhere in the $55,000 range.
Have to assume your not on Medicare, the drug company’s usually have a assistance program if you qualify for help. The guys here Proby have more info on options Hate the cost of these drugs.
The first month was the most expensive. Something like $2,800. That put me right away into catastrophic coverage. After that copay was about $570 month until January when I had to begin a new year and get hit again with the $2800 copay. Paid this by turning in a CD.
Your costs are only slightly higher than ours. Leswell’s first 30 days was $2564 which put us, like you, into catastrophic. We now pay the supposed 5% which is $498 per month. One teacher’s hard-earned savings is rapidly disappearing. The good thing is that he has much more energy on Zytiga—or is that a result of the prednisone? He’s still out working up a sweat in the garden. It’s 87 degrees in MN. He does look better with exercise but has gone from 170 lbs before dx to 148. No moon face yet.
Our specialty pharmacy offers little hope for a grant or even for Zytiga going out of patent in October which I had read would be the case. The representative does say perhaps they can get a grant for the Xgeva, injections of which will begin in September. I’m curious about the almighty PSA having not yet had a blood draw.
If 500 mg really does equal 1000 mg of Zytiga if taken with a low fat meal, we may soon ask to try two tablets instead of four daily. Anyone else considering this? Why or why not? Go well mcp1941 from two 1939ers. (If that is a birthdate and not a marriage or graduation.) Hi to Mark, leo, chillywilly, TommyTV, larry_dammit... I’d better quit before I offend someone. And to DSEE. It is a maze! Best with the Xofigo.
so about $10,000 a month? Thats what I figured. 10-11 after tax money so that about 16K Its not easy staying alive.
When was the “first” month in your scenario, please.
I've been down this road twice. First with Zytiga about 4 years ago and now with Erleada. First charge for Erleada in May was about $2,800, Refills in June and July about $570 each. First blood work for Erleada tomorrow. If undectable and stays undetectable I'll be asking my MO to go on holiday in December. I had a two and a half year holiday after I stopped Zytiga.
Most medical center have coundelors who help find ways to pay for expensive drugs. I believe that if you earn less than $94000 a year you can get Zytiga at no cost.
At the beginning we applied to mfg for assistance, got denied... "drug spending was not high enough". We were looking at $3k/month copay (w/Medicare drug coverage). We had an AWESOME specialty pharmacy that got us a grant which covered copay for 2.5 months, then we reapplied to mfg and got approved. We are now at zero cost thru end of year. Jan 1, when Medicare resets, we will be back to the beginning... looking for grant $'s and reapplying to mfg. Good luck...
Is anyone taking the generic Zytiga?
Blessed to have insurance to cover it. We live in Ontario Canada. If insurance doesn't cover our OHIP- government will cover. There is about a 4-6 week delay though while getting approved by the government.
panfoundation.org. They paid the portion than my insurance passed along to me; $400 per month.
Thank you!
Look up the alternative way of taking it with food. I got zero testosterone with 1/4 the dose. Also a generic may hit the market soon
A Generic Version of Zytiga Has Been Approved by the FDA
It has just been recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a generic version of Zytiga, the new drug’s name is Yonsa. It is a novel formulation of abiraterone acetate that needs to be used in combination with methylprednisolone for the treatment of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
Don't believe Yonsa is out yet, but it should be later this year. Per the above, it was approved by the FDA and my understanding is, it does not have food restrictons before, after taking it.
Just so you know, I have MPC and am taking Lupron (medical castration, not a favorite in my house), Zytiga (for now), Prednisone. Medications working for now; however, not sure if I would seek further treatment like chemo, radiation if meds stop working. Quality of life is a high priority for me and side effects of chemo, radiation seem too harsh, dibilitating.
Stay strong.
Larry B.
Thank you so much Larry for the info on Yonsa.
Long may your present treatment work for you.
Every treatment has a different effect on every person for example my husband is on Lupron and Cassodex and he is doing fine. Except for possibly a couple of hours in the evening when he has some fatigue.
He plays golf 3 times a week, goes to the gym 4 times a week, walks for 2 hours every day, does all the cooking, gardening etc. etc.
He has had pc for 15 years now - RP, radiation and 3 drug treatments.
So stay strong and never give up.
Best wishes and all good health.
Through my insurance with Medicare, it was $60 until the donut hole, then $10 balance of year. Unfortunately it just stopped working after only 11 months. Bummer.
Hi I’m in the UK and I self fund the medication. 👍
Pan.org and Patient advocate both give grants but it is based on your income. Go on the American Cancer Society websites they have links to different grants also your doctor should be assisting you in this process.
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