Here’s how expensive brain cancer is

On top of everything else, Sen. John McCain is looking at a lot of medical expenses for his treatment for glioblastoma — a nasty, aggressive form of brain cancer. He's likely to have a lot of those expenses covered, but not all — and a brain cancer patient with less generous insurance would be even worse off. (Which is one reason advocates for cancer patients are so worried about the Senate health care bill.)

Per the National Brain Tumor Society:

"Brain tumors have the highest per-patient initial cost of care for any cancer group, with an annualized mean net cost of care approaching $150,000, as well as the highest annualized mean net costs for last-year-of-life care relative to other cancers at $135–$210K (depending on age and gender) per-patient."