Mass found in my friends breast

[niceguy]

Goodmorning, this is my second post about this matter with a slightly different focus.

My friend is Dominican, 38 years of age and a mass has been located in her breast (nodular). She is hoping to seek a second opinion but she states these specialists are very expensive. i think she does not have health insurance as she is quite poor.

questions
who do you recommend in the DR for a breast examination?
do any of these specialists speak english?
contact details?
cost for a breast examination by a specialist?
Cost to have the nodules removed? ball park figures are okay i.e $1000.00us etc
Best hospitals for removal of a breast mass.
it apparently is not cancerous

hope you can help

 

[Chip]

She can always go to the public hospital which is free. Failing that call any clinic and they will refer you to a physician who can do an exam. I expect the initial appt. will cost around RD1000 w/o insurance.

 

[niceguy]

She can always go to the public hospital which is free. Failing that call any clinic and they will refer you to a physician who can do an exam. I expect the initial appt. will cost around RD1000 w/o insurance.

Thank you very much for your responses
RD1000 for a breast exam by a specialist... is that all. That is nothing!
thanks

 

[Chip]

Thank you very much for your responses
RD1000 for a breast exam by a specialist... is that all. That is nothing!
thanks

It may depend on where you live of course. I base this on an average consulting fee here at La Union Medica in Santiago. The mammogram will be more of course but I doubt like anything back in the States.

 

[LaTeacher]

she wants to get a second opinion in the states but is very poor? and can't even afford a doctor in the DR?
nice.

a biopsy costs around 2500 pesos. so if there is more than one mass, multiply that.
a mammogram costs around 4,500 pesos without insurance. in santiago. i imagine it's more in santo domingo.
if the lump is benign, an extraction will run around 10,000 pesos.
chemotherapy and radiation are quite costly - and depending on the severity and duration of the treatment can cost upwards of 500,000 pesos.

she should, however, get that second opinion with another biopsy and another lab. better safe than sorry. a friend of ours had breast cancer six years ago and when they found the first lump, they told her it was benign. when she got a second and third opinion, it was cancer.

 

[Hillbilly]

questions
who do you recommend in the DR for a breast examination? Any clinic in Santiago, with HOMS #1, Union Medica and Corominas #2.
do any of these specialists speak english? You mean English? Most do, but you said she is Dominican, so what>??? or Why?
contact details? Your "friend" can find them. Not to worry. Especially if you are going to foot the bills. And remember there is a Cancer Institute here with a lot of free services.
cost for a breast examination by a specialist? Read LaTeacher's answer, it is a good one.
Cost to have the nodules removed? ball park figures are okay i.e $1000.00us etc//// Ditto
Best hospitals for removal of a breast mass. See above
it apparently is not cancerous.....always get second and third opinions...."apparently" don't count when talking about cancer.


I really hope you that this seriously. The oncologists here are pretty good and they can do the work..

HB

 

[Rattus_Rattus]

I hope everything will be fine with your friend, cancer is a very scary illness.

 

[Criss Colon]

Where does she live?
CC

 

[Como_un_cameron]

Two years ago mi esposa felt some pain and irregularities in her breast too.

We went firstly to the public hospital, then to another institution to do an echo of her breast.
After that and talking with her family,her family suggested we should go to Santiago. So I drove her there.
Another echo and no mammo!?

With that 2 echo foto's from different institutions, we/she were sent to public hospital again.
El medico wrote a recipe for different vitamins (E).
After that she still has something in there, but it doesn't hurt no more.
And since I'm no specialist.

However, I feel what problems and questions arise in this situation.

Sincerely hope all your questions regarding this subject, will be answered rapidly and positively for your friend's well being and your piece of mind.

 

[niceguy]

Many thanks everyone for your help. The answers really enlghtened me
I spoke to my friend tonight and she said for a specialist appointment it could be around RD10000 to rd 15000.
As opposed to a basic assessment of around 1000rd.
An operation extraction maybe around 25-30000rd.

 

[niceguy]

she wants to get a second opinion in the states but is very poor? and can't even afford a doctor in the DR?
nice.

a biopsy costs around 2500 pesos. so if there is more than one mass, multiply that.
a mammogram costs around 4,500 pesos without insurance. in santiago. i imagine it's more in santo domingo.
if the lump is benign, an extraction will run around 10,000 pesos.
chemotherapy and radiation are quite costly - and depending on the severity and duration of the treatment can cost upwards of 500,000 pesos.

she should, however, get that second opinion with another biopsy and another lab. better safe than sorry. a friend of ours had breast cancer six years ago and when they found the first lump, they told her it was benign. when she got a second and third opinion, it was cancer.

Hi thank you for your response. I was unsure of your first sentence. She is Dominican and will require Dominican based services. We / i have no connection to the states.

your prices were very helpful... thank you

 

[niceguy]

Im somewhat relieved at the pricing as well. Very reasonable prices

 

[LaTeacher]

she told you 10,000 pesos for a visit with a specialist?

the surgery may cost that much (30,000) in the nicest place in santo domingo - but really, it's a simple procedure if the mass is non-cancerous. but, i think you're getting taken.

 

[niceguy]

I believe she was speaking on a guestimate level as it was i that asked her.
Getting taken; that is always on my mind in the DR for so many reasons. Thats a fair comment.
She says she is to go for an analysis and second opinion.
Id like to help her and really to extract the mass that is quite a reasonable price, god if it brings her some peace. id do that for her. I will probably pay the doctor directly. I simply dont trust these folks when $800 is in their hands. I just don't!
thanks all

 

[niceguy]

She can always go to the public hospital which is free. Failing that call any clinic and they will refer you to a physician who can do an exam. I expect the initial appt. will cost around RD1000 w/o insurance.

Hi
just read you post again.
what is free the exam/mammography or the operation? I don't want to get taken for a few bucks if she as a Dom' can have the mass removed for free
thanks

 

[expatsooner]

directly paying the clinic would be a very nice gesture on your part and very generous

Having something done "for free" at the local hospitals/clinics might not be like you imagine however. Our maid's sister was in hospital once and we went to visit and found her in a bed in the hallway. The hospitals don't provide even the most basic of items such as washclothes and soap so we went and bought a gift basket with bandages, meds, soap, washclothes, a sheet etc. Too often in Dominican health care you get what you pay for.......

I am not trying to be critical of the doctors and other staff, I actually think they do a great job considering the level of funding and the conditions under which they work but if there is any way to get private care that is the route to go in my opinion.

 

[dv8]

from what i understand even in a public hospital you have to pay something. they do not provide anything so you'd have to pay for bandages, IV, medicine and so on.
i cannot remember where your friend is located but i can truly recommend dr perez fernandez in clinica union in santiago. he is an excellent doctor. a visit is, i think 500 pesos without insurance. all medical equipment is available in union so she can have mammografia righ away and see him again to talk about results (when entering with results one does not pay again, it is included in a fee).
i am not sure about the pricing estimate given here. the fee for my operation including one night in the hospital was 54.000 pesos (procedure done in union, by dr perez fermandez). but then i stayed in a very expensive private suite so you'll have to subtract, say, 8.000 pesos from that. still we are looking at over 40.000 pesos.

i think someone here mentioned vitamin E? wife of one of my workers had a lump in her breast and doctors treated it with vitamin E. apparently the lump was just fat tissue and vitamin E (fat soluble) dealt with it well.

 

[Como_un_cameron]

.

i think someone here mentioned vitamin E? wife of one of my workers had a lump in her breast and doctors treated it with vitamin E. apparently the lump was just fat tissue and vitamin E (fat soluble) dealt with it well.

Thank you very much for giving me peace of mind on that !!!!
Much appreciated, again thanks !

 

[Chip]

from what i understand even in a public hospital you have to pay something. they do not provide anything so you'd have to pay for bandages, IV, medicine and so on.

They do not charge for consultations nor for any analysis they can do there. Yes they charge for medicine, etc.

 

[dv8]

of course the public hospitals do not charge for consults and analysis, they are there to serve dominican people. but being ingresado in a hospital means getting nearly everything for the patient, from suero and medicine to bandages, plaster and rubber gloves.

como_un_cameron, don't hike your hopes up with vitamine E. i could not find any info as to how would it help with a fat tissue lump in the breast. here is some more info on fat necrosis the the breast: Breast Fat Necrosis - Symptoms and Treatment for Breast Fat Necrosis
please, do not think the problem is solved and off your chest, or her chest, literally. majority of breast lumps are bening but there is always a possibility it could be cancerous. you should not stop worry until you have a confirmed diagnosis from a specialist. my mum's co-worker put off a visit to the doctor in a fear that "it may be cancer". she would not go even when she could not sleep for the pain and had bloody excretion comining out. she finally fainted at work and was hospitalized. died two weeks later, only 26 years old...