@BellaDonna1959
Really good questions to raise. Were it not that every province treats the financial aspects of treatment differently it would make a great topic for a speaker session or next symposium. I'll mention it to OCC anyway in case there's a way of covering the differences provincially in a one hour overview.
I also say good questions because I'm in the same boat as you or close to it and, like you, a planner. I hate surprises especially when it comes to my health and my pocket book.
I'll be having more detailed conversations with my oncologist about immunotherapy in the next couple of weeks but what I understand right now is that there is no immunotherapy drug approved in Ontario yet. That said,there are trials underway and I expect new ones upcoming that might be applicable to your situation. When your current regimen stops working is when your oncologist will discuss specific options for you if there are any and in that conversation, if there is a trial to consider, you'll get all of the financial information as well as administration process. From my previous experience on a trial for two years, funding for the drug is usually provided for during the course of treatment The question you need to raise is what happens at the end of the trial if the drug is still working but not yet approved in Ontario. The trial I was on covered that. The pharmaceutical company agreed to provide the drug free of charge for an additional two years or until it was approved in Ontario, whichever came first.
Also ask about travel relief. Any trial will require you to report to the cancer centre where it's being run regularly to refill prescriptions, blood draws and scans. Some trials do offer a small stipend to help offset travel costs..
I know this doesn't fully answer your questions but perhaps helps a little. Hopefully others in our community will weigh in too.