Many Cancer Survivors Not Getting Medical Care Due to Cost Concerns

Cancer survivors under the age of 65 years were one and a half to two times more likely to delay or forgo all types of medical care than their same-age peers without a history of cancer. Hispanic and black cancer survivors were more likely to go without prescription medications and dental care than white survivors."Although the large number of survivors going without care was somewhat surprising, it has long been recognized that cancer can have a negative impact on the financial health of survivors," Weaver said. "This is important because cancer survivors have many medical needs that persist for years after their diagnosis and treatment. The implications of this financial stress for their ongoing medical care are just beginning to be recognized." The analysis revealed that 18 percent of U.S. cancer survivors, which represents more than two million individuals, did not get one or more needed medical services because of financial concerns. "Future research needs to examine the impact of forgoing care on survivors' quality of life and survival," the authors wrote. Weaver added that it was not clear from this study what specific types of medical care were not being received and whether the services were cancer-related. She also noted that it will be interesting to observe how recent health care reform efforts might impact access to care for cancer survivors in the coming years.



Source: Eurekalert