I still haven’t gotten itemized bills from NYU and Sloan Kettering, perhaps my requests got lost in the ether. But as part of my New Year’s paperwork purge I did scare up the quarterly statement from Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield. From the dates, I can figure out how the figures match the procedures. The “Tab 1” post detailed the cost of my lumpectomy, this one will go backward to the mammogram/biopsy stage:
Balance forward from Tab 1:
$39,978.63
5/14/10
West Side Radiology, Manhattan, original mammogram
$866.00
6/4/10
West Side Radiology, additional mammogram views
$419.32
6/25/10
Dr. Elizabeth Gifford, primary care physician, manual breast exam
$80.00
6/29/10
West Side Radiology, fee for copying mammogram films to be given to radiology group who will do the first biopsy (for some reason, the films, even from digital mammography, have to be hand-carried from one provider to another)
$175.00
Running total: $41,518.95
[Cost of stereotactic core biopsy covered in “Tab 1“]
7/27/10
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Manhattan Dr. Alexandra Heerdt, second opinion
(It’s interesting that Sloan Kettering would charge less than NYU since MSKCC is arguably the “big dog” in New York City cancer care.)
$290.00
7/28/10
NYU, MRI of both left and right breasts, to rule out any malignancies that might have been missed.
$5,996.92
7/29/10
NYU, Genetic counseling and testing to determine if I carry the BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 genes that increase breast cancer risk
$3,340.00
Extra genetic analysis not covered by insurance
$700.00
Running total: $51,845.87
8/3/10
NYU, Sonogram-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy for nodule in upper inner right breast, seen in MRI done 7/27, Institutional charge for the procedure:
$3,973.62
Non-itemized charges for medical supplies related to the procedure
$1,223.00
8/4/10
NYU, MRI-guided stereotactic core biopsy of 1.2 centimeter region of the right, medial breast, institutional charge for the procedure:
$6,970.74
Non-itemized charges for medical supplies related to the procedure
$1,415.00
Subtotal for all diagnostic biopsies, scans, and pathology including the biopsy totaled in Tab 1:
$26,059.60
That’s quite possibly the most expensive photo album ever assembled on my behalf.
Running total through the surgery in September:
$69,238.23
My Left Breast 
Crazy, isn’t it? Just wait until you see the bills for the chemo and Herceptin. (gasp)