Good morning 1012

 

Our gurden was organized. I'm very happy.

The other day, my friend asked me that why Yuki needs hosptalizaion. In America usually patients who have the same disease regurally go to hospital without staying in the hospital. 

Yuki's treatment is taking chemo drip for 3 hours once a week and radiation for five minutes with pinpoint accuracy every day. 

Radiation treatment is to eliminate the malignant tumor or make it smaller. Chemo therapy is to assist ratiation treatment and also to eliminate hidden ones in the body.

In Japan in most hospitals patients are hosptailed for about 10 days monitoring the sideeffects from chemo. During their hosptalizaiton, they take chemo once or twice. Dependding on their health condition, docotrs decide the suitable kind of chemo, and  whether to continue the treatment.

This is called "standard therapy" for (lung) cancer.

Here in Japan most of people take this standard therapy thanks to our public insurance system. And the insurance system also offers "high-cost medical expense benefit".

Usually a shared room is inexpensive or even free for some hospitals. This time Yuki uses a private room, but thanks to his private cancer insurance, the fee will be coverd. 

Nowadays "immunotherapy" is also added on top of the standard therapy. It is partly covered by our public insurance. Of course a hopstial-free life is better mentally, and financialy. However, we are able to take such treatment with less burden.

Immunotherapy is to strengthen the immune system and prevent reccurence of new malignant tumors .

Acoordingly our publisc insurance is too kind to aged people and cancer patients.It is becoming a problem causing burden to the insurance system. So the budget is getting tight. Compared to the time this insurance system started, there are more aged people and cancer patients now.

The luckiest thing for us is having a hospital which offers standard therapy for lung cancer near our house.  It takes 10 minutes by car to get there.  So we don't worry about transportation and transportation physical power. It is difficult for some people to get there especially if they need to go everyday.

Well, Yuki finished his first chemo and as of now, he has not felt any severe side effects.