Half of Cancer Survivors Face Cancer-Related Financial Hardship
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 28, 2024 -- Half of cancer survivors experience cancer-related financial hardship, according to a research letter published online Aug. 20 in JAMA Network Open.
Apoorv Dhir, M.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues estimated the prevalence of financial hardship among cancer survivors across cancer types. The analysis included responses from 1,212 participants in the 2021 Health Information National Trends Survey- Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results.
The researchers found that when asked about experience of financial hardship, 56.4 percent responded not at all, 22.1 percent a little, 15.0 some, and 6.5 percent a lot. There was variation by cancer type. Higher odds of increased financial hardship were seen with younger age (50 to 59 years: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.66), lower income ($35,000 to $74,999: aOR, 3.55), advanced cancer stage (nonlocal: aOR, 1.92), and federal health insurance (Medicare: aOR, 1.43). Each 0.01 increase in the Social Vulnerability Index conferred a lower probability of reporting no financial hardship and a higher probability of reporting a little, some, or a lot of financial hardship.
"Acknowledging the role of community and structural barriers and identifying socially vulnerable populations for targeted interventions represent a potential strategy toward mitigating financial hardship and delivering equitable cancer care," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted August 2024
Read this next
Helping Others Linked to Higher Level of Cognitive Function
THURSDAY, Aug. 21, 2025 -- Helping others, both via formal volunteering and informal helping, is associated with higher levels of cognitive function and slower cognitive decline...
TAR-200 Monotherapy Promising for BCG-Unresponsive Bladder Cancer
THURSDAY, Aug. 21, 2025 -- For patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), an intravesical...
Work-Related Income Drops for Parents of Children Diagnosed With Type 1 Diabetes
THURSDAY, Aug. 21, 2025 -- Work-related income decreases sharply for mothers and fathers of children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, with similar effects across sociodemographic...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.