Findings from a survey given by oncologists at the University of Washington and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that colon cancer patients under the age of 50 and patients with lower incomes or who were unemployed were the most vulnerable to financial hardships on account of their anti-cancer treatments.
The survey was sent to 555 adults in Washington State who were or had been diagnosed with advanced colon cancer between 2008 and 2010. It asked about the participants':
-- Financial situation
-- Whether or not they had insurance
-- Their treatments
Of the 284 who responded, 104 claimed at least one serious financial hardship relating to their treatment. Other findings included:
Those patients under 50 had over 50 times greater chances of:
-- Selling or refinancing their homes
-- Having their income drop 20 percent or more
-- Going into debt
-- Having to borrow money from friends and family to meet expenses.
Also, patients with household incomes under $30,000 were eight times more likely to face those financial problems than those with higher household incomes.
Finally, it was not uncommon for patients not to discuss the cost of their treatments with their doctors. On top of that, five percent of participants skipped treatment while another seven refused treatment based solely on the costs.
Source: JCO
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