March 2017

I could have saved an additional $2,326.57 on my cancer treatment!

If I had found out about these money saving cancer treatment programs earlier in my breast cancer treatment I could have saved an additional $2,326.57 on my out of pocket co-pays!

I did save $4,276.61 on my out of pocket co-pays for my cancer treatment, however finding out at the end of my treatment that I could have saved an additional $2,326.57 was devastating!

That was money that came directly out of my family’s pocket since I didn’t know about all the cost savings available to me at the beginning or even middle of my treatment! Many of the money saving programs available have time deadlines relating to your treatment and many of the programs also have retro rules regarding how far back in time they will allow you to use your benefits on prior treatments that occurred before the date you were actually “approved” in order to use your awarded benefits.

Since I had found out about these programs so late in my treatment, (I actually found out about them after had just finished chemotherapy), I had been awarded a certain amount of benefits that I could use but I was only able to use it on my last chemo treatment due to the programs retro rules on how far back you are allowed to use your awarded benefits 🙁

Needless to say this was extremely disappointing and frustrating to find out! So my hope is to help other cancer patients learn about and understand these programs as early as possible in their treatment so they can save as much money as possible on their out of pocket cancer treatment expenses.

I saved over $4,200 on my out of pocket cancer treatment expenses!

There are several ways to save money on out of pocket cancer treatment expenses.

I went through ten months of treatment for breast cancer that included chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation oncology. Cancer treatment can be very expensive depending on what type of insurance you have.

The money saving programs available that I discovered toward the end of my treatment saved our family thousands of dollars on our out of pocket expenses on insurance co-pays and deductibles. I saved $4,276.61 to be exact! This is an amazing amount of savings.

However, had I known about these programs earlier in my treatment I could have further maximized the benefits, as some of the programs are time sensitive relating to when you receive treatment, and I could have saved thousands of dollars more.

The programs available can provide discounts on hospital expenses such as surgery, big tests like MRI, PET scan, mammograms, blood work, ultrasound, etc.

The discounts available for chemotherapy treatment can save you thousands on your out of pocket co-pays relating to the chemotherapy drugs and other cancer treatment related drugs you receive.

The discounts available for radiation oncology can also save thousands on your out of pocket co-pays relating to your radiation treatment. I am excited to share all the resources that I uncovered during my treatment and help guide cancer patients along the way.

The cancer road is not an easy one, especially the financial side of it. However, I have been there and I can guide you through your financial side of treatment and help you save as much money as possible on your out of pocket cancer related treatment expenses.

Welcome to Cancer Butterfly! Learn how to save money on your cancer treatment!

The Cancer Butterfly website is officially open!

My name is Danielle Rivera and I am a seven year breast cancer survivor, I created this site to celebrate my seven year breast cancer survivor anniversary on September 4, 2016.

Since going through ten months of cancer treatment myself, I learned how expensive cancer treatment can be and what a burden it can financially be on a family.

This is a site designed to help cancer patients learn how to save money on their out of pocket cancer treatment expenses.

The resource pages will help guide you smoothly through your treatment by providing information on the different types of wigs available, how to set up an electronic meal delivery calendar, dental advice for how to take care of your gums and teeth during chemotherapy treatment, tips on how to keep all your medical paperwork organized, and even how to get free hotel nights and airfare for medical treatment or for a much needed vacation 🙂

Our family was able to save $4,276.61! This is the actual amount I saved on my “out of pocket” cancer medical expenses, this amount would have come directly out of our families pocket had I not found additional programs and resources that help cancer patients with their “out of pocket” cancer related medical expenses.

I am excited to share all the resources that I uncovered during my treatment and help guide cancer patients and their families along the way. My family lives on the central coast of California. My husband is a Firefighter for the US Forest Service and we have two daughters, Jessica who just turned 13 years old and Emily who is 9 years old.

Saving money has turned into somewhat of a hobby of mine, whether it is on groceries, household items, hotel stays, air fare, or cancer treatment, I am interested to find out how to save money and look at it as a fun rewarding challenge that I am excited to help others succeed with as well, especially cancer patients!