Financial Assistance for Brain Tumor Patients

Facing a brain tumor diagnosis or surgery is overwhelming – physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. If you’re facing this reality right now, personally or within your community, you are not alone.

In this post, learn how to prepare for treatment with a stronger understanding of brain tumor surgery costs, what insurance may not fully cover, and how to get more help through a Community-Led fundraising campaign.

How Much Does Brain Tumor Surgery Cost?

Brain tumor removal surgery costs can vary significantly for patients and may not be fully covered by health insurance. For example, if the patient is living with a small benign tumor in an accessible location, the cost could be $50,000 before insurance. If the tumor is malignant and needs to be treated with surgery and chemotherapy or radiation therapy, the costs can quickly rise to $700,000 before insurance.

Although brain tumors sometimes require similar treatments as a brain cancer diagnosis, like chemotherapy or radiation therapy, total costs will differ greatly based on the severity and disease type. Brain cancer often requires additional repetitive treatments, but brain tumors tend to require fewer rounds of treatments than brain cancer: most of the time, brain tumors only require one invasive surgery.

Common Costs Associated with a Brain Tumor

Here are a few costs that are frequently associated with brain tumor treatment or recovery. Keep in mind these costs may not be fully covered by insurance, and they may persist for decades or even a lifetime following treatment:

• Health insurance premiums, deductibles, and co-payments
• Medications
• Medical travel expenses for therapy or treatment
• Relocation or moving expenses due to diagnosis (such as in the case of moving to be closer to a therapy center or hospital for treatment)
• Temporary housing due to medical relocation
• Mileage, tolls, and parking fees for visits to therapy center or hospital
• Specially equipped vans, specialized wheelchairs, and durable medical equipment
• Home modifications for accessibility
• Home health care services and caregiving
• Activity-based therapy and rehabilitation
• Assistive technology 
• Experimental treatments

Finding Financial Assistance for Brain Tumor Patients

Brain tumor surgery cost, medical expenses associated with brain tumor procedures, rehabilitation funding for surgery, and long-term health care costs will vary depending on the situation. However, regardless of the specifics, the expenses can add up quickly for patients and their families. 

Help Hope Live is your Community-Led fundraising source to assist with the unmet medical expenses and related costs that can result from living with a brain tumor.

How Does Fundraising for Brain Tumors Work?

The fundraising process with our nonprofit starts with a few simple steps:

1. Complete a short campaign request at helphopelive.org/get-started/apply
2. We will contact you if Community-Led fundraising is a possible option
3. You’ll be paired with a Client Services Coordinator
4. Your Coordinator will provide you with one-on-one fundraising help, including personalized materials and guidance on rallying your community, sharing your story on social media, reaching out to the press, planning in-person or virtual fundraising events, and much more