On March 4th, 9 days ago, I found out my friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, specifically, Ductal Invasive Carcinoma.
2 days ago, I texted Wesley Jacobs, a dental tourism facilitator in Costa Rica, if he knew any good oncology places in Costa Rica (I do not know any oncology facilitators abroad yet, but I trust Wes’s opinion on medical tourism in general). He said Clínica Bíblica is one of the best around.
According to Wikipedia, Clínica Bíblica is the first private hospital in Costa Rica. They were founded in 2019, and are JCI-accredited, which is the best accreditation you can get as an international clinic or hospital.
Yesterday morning, I went to Clinica Biblica’s website and WhatsApp’d their number.
I got an instant reply from a chatbot, which asked me for English or Spanish. I went deeper into the menu (appointments, general inquiry, etc.) but the chatbot got stuck in a loop. After a few attempts, it said it would connect me with an operator.
A few minutes later, the operator said hello and asked how they could help me. I told them that my friend had a breast cancer diagnosis. They asked me if I wanted a link to their oncology department. I said yes, and they sent me the link. I wasn’t able to find the right oncology page when I went to their website, so the WhatsApp support was genuinely helpful.
The oncology page listed the hospital’s two oncology doctors. I could look at their education, publications, professional associations, languages spoken (both knew English), etc. I was even able to schedule a call with them, and both had availability for that day!
The form to schedule a call was confusing, I couldn’t tell if the times were Costa Rica time (Central) or my time (Pacific). I asked the operator to clarify, but they just kept on telling me the current time in Costa Rica, so I don’t think they understood my question.
I decided to pick a time at the end of the day, because I knew I would be free whether it was Central or Pacific.
The form also wasn’t great because I couldn’t type in all the digits at the phone number input. It seems they expected a Costa Rican number, not an American number.
So I texted the operator that I booked for later in the day, and gave them my entire phone number.
Surprisingly, the operator said the doctor was already aware of my case, and that I could call now. I called once, no response. I told the operator.
I called again, and this time, the doctor picked up. He sounded a bit confused. I explained a bit, and he said he was with a patient, and would call me back after.
I felt bad for interrupting the other patient’s visit. It seems like the operator may have mixed that up. Anyway, 10 minutes later, the doctor called me, and I explained the situation.
I told him about my friend. She’s already done a biopsy and MRI. She already had her surgery scheduled for next week. Furthermore, she has insurance. It wouldn’t make sense to fly to Costa Rica to do medical tourism at this point.
But, he said he could provide consultations as a second opinion. A 45-60 minute call would be 65,000 Costa Rican Colón, which is approximately $115 USD. He said they take PayPal or credit card.
I thanked him. Later in the day, I texted him a few follow-up questions, which he replied to.
Even though it’s unlikely my friend will go to Costa Rica, and I agree, it doesn’t make sense, it felt very empowering to know that I now had access to a second opinion, and another place we could go to for medical care if things got worse, god forbid 🤞.
I got to witness first-hand, to a minor degree, what I’ve read from other positive medical tourism patient reports. These positive aspects were:
Having a direct line to a responsive MD within an hour.
Immediate customer support with someone who speaks English (but not great).
Price transparency.
Overall, everyone we’ve spoken to that has had or knows someone who’s had breast cancer said that they recovered. Though most seem to take medication, hormone blockers, for 5-10 years afterwards. Things seem tractable, and it was detected at an early stage, so things look good.
My friend has surgery next week. Please wish her well! If you or someone you know has gone through something similar and have any tips, please email/DM me! 🙏
Posted with her consent of course. She’s grateful I went looking for second opinions.
The responsive doctor and price transparency are incredible. I've never been able to get an over the phone quote from an office, let alone directly from the doctor. This would be a great second opinion alternative to visiting another local US doctor .
I wonder if they would provide clear outlined costs for a treatment plan?