|
 There are more than 14 million cancer survivors in the U.S., the
authors wrote in a paper released by the journal Cancer.
“We found that cancer survivors with three or more financial
problems had clinically meaningful differences in their physical and
mental health-related quality of life and were two to three times
more likely to report depressed mood and six to eight times more
likely to worry about cancer recurrence,” lead author Hrishikesh P.
Kale of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond told Reuters
Health by email.
“Financial burden results from the high cost of cancer care,” added
senior author Norman V. Carroll, also of Virginia Commonwealth
University. “This is especially true for the newer,
biologically-derived specialty drugs,” which can require patient
copays of several hundred dollars per month, Carroll said.
Loss of ability to work due to illness and treatment, transportation
costs to get treatment, and loss of a spouse’s income if the spouse
must take time off from work for caregiving can also contribute,
said Dr. Scott D. Ramsey, director of the Hutchinson Institute for
Cancer Outcomes Research, who was not part of the new study.
“Finally, if a person loses their job and therefore their
employer-based insurance in the course of treatment, things get much
worse,” Ramsey told Reuters Health by email.
The new findings are drawn from the 2011 Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey, which included 1,380 people who self-reported ever being
diagnosed with cancer. Survey questions addressed a history of
borrowing money, going into debt, filing for bankruptcy, making
financial sacrifices, worrying about paying large medical bills and
being unable to cover the cost of medical care.
In addition, 12 survey items assessed current physical and mental
health and health-related quality of life.
Almost eight percent of cancer survivors had borrowed money,
incurred debt or declared bankruptcy. One in five were worried about
paying large medical bills, one in ten were unable to cover the cost
of medical care visits, and almost one in ten had made other
financial sacrifices.
“These findings are consistent with numerous other studies that have
called attention in recent years to the financial burden of cancer
diagnosis and treatment,” said Dr. Reshma Jagsi of the University of
Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor.
“Although many cancer survivors are able to return to work, research
from our group and others has suggested that a substantial minority
of cancer patients do lose their jobs after cancer diagnosis and are
unable to find work again,” Jagsi, who was not part of the new
study, told Reuters Health by email.
[to top of second column] |
Those who were younger at diagnosis, female, a member of a racial or
ethnic minority, and who had short-survival cancers were more likely
than others to face financial burden.
As financial problems increased, health-related quality of life
decreased, the authors report. Financial burden increased the risk
of depressed mood and worrying about cancer recurrence, and those
with three or more financial problems had clinically significant
poorer physical and mental health compared to others.
Eight percent of cancer survivors did not have insurance during the
course of their cancer care and such cancer survivors were twice as
likely to report financial burden compared to those with access to
insurance, Kale said.
“Even among insured cancer survivors, 29% reported cancer-related
financial burden,” he said.
“We did not analyze if cancer survivors were able to return to work
in our study,” he said. “However, future research could study if
cancer survivors are able to return to work at the same level and if
they have better or worse productivity.”
Cancer survivors should educate themselves regarding survivorship
issues, coverage and benefit design of their health plans and
organizations that provide financial assistance, Kale said.
“Further, cancer survivorship care programs can identify survivors
with the greatest financial burden and focus on helping them cope
with psychological stress, anxiety and depression throughout their
journey with cancer,” he said.
“We recommend hiring a financial planner or seeking assistance with
finances,” Ramsey said. “Some cancer centers are starting to offer
this, but it is relatively rare.”
(The story is refiled to fix typo in lead.)
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1RuwUpM Cancer, released March 14, 2016.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
