Can we apply Game Theory to Cancer Treatment Options?
I have come to understand cancer radiation treatment this past Fall as a result of my grandmother having treatment for stage three salivary gland cancer. She was facing the option of losing all her teeth as well as the bone structure in her entire mouth as a result of traditional radiation treatment. She was going to refuse treating the remaining cancer left over from surgery when she learned through the CDC website of Proton Radiation Therapy an option she has decided to pay for out of her life savings.
Proton Radiation Treatment is a more advanced option for cancer treatment that is not only more effective at treating cancer but far less damaging to a patient’s body than traditional radiation therapy. Sadly, the option for Proton Radiation Treatment is not easily offered up to patients as a means for treating cancer because insurance companies do not typically cover the cost. We can not only apply the concept of networking learned in class to this scenario but, incomprehensible to me, is the fact that game theory can be applied since all players want to reap the highest rewards. The cancer ridden player is seeking the opportunity to not only rid themselves of the disease but to do it in a way that is the least harmful to their body – hoping to continue a way of life after survival that is dignified. While the insurance company wants to pay only for treatment that is necessary and cost the least amount to maintain large profits.
Networking, the degree of connections and the influences those connections have on one another can be seen in the realm of cancer treatment options for individuals impacted by the disease. There is a network of people interacting on behalf of gaining treatment (the patient), those administering the treatment (doctors and cancer facilities) and those paying for the treatment (insurance companies). This network can be applied to game theory in the sense that the patients vie to save their lives while the insurance companies with the cancer facilities and doctors as an intermediary vie to make the most money out of the situation. The patients want to have their insurance companies rightfully pay the bill for the best option available, but the insurance companies want to provide the service at the least possible cost to net the largest profit. As a result insurance companies collude with medical professionals to offer older and less advanced treatments to keep costs down and profits up.
Game theory as discussed in class refers to the intersection of strategies of multiple groups aiming for the best payoff or benefit possible for them. In the case of cancer treatment, the insurance companies aim for the best payoff in respect to money. Cancer patients, on the other hand, want to have the best possible cancer treatment regardless of cost. The payoffs both groups are seeking are divergent — neither side coming out on top. Sadly, game theory is visible when one examines the available cancer treatment options offered to patients and insurance companies.
http://thehill.com/opinion/letters/349542-make-proton-therapy-accessible