Many struggle with the high cost of breast cancer care

Monday, July 23, 2018 (HealthDay News) – The cost of treatment for early stage bad cancer can be devastating for many patients, but they receive little advice or help from their doctors, a new study suggests.

"We have made a lot of progress in treating bad cancer, which is wonderful, but this study shows that we are only part of our goal." We must now tackle the financial ravages which many patients are facing. author Dr. Reshma Jagsi, vice president of radiation oncology at the University of Michigan

In the study, researchers interviewed about 2,500 women treated for early-stage bad cancer and 845 surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists. 38% of patients were at least somewhat concerned about the financial impact of their treatment for bad cancer, and some faced considerable difficulties, the results showed. Fourteen percent reported losing more than 10% of their household income and 17% spent more than 10% of their income on medical expenses.

Black and Hispanic patients were the most likely to have financial difficulties According to the report, many of the study's doctors said they were concerned about the costs of treatment and discussed the issue of health. 73% of patients with financial problems said that they had not received any help from their doctor's office.

This suggests that physicians and their staff need to improve communication with patients about financial difficulties, according to the study's authors.

"To cure a patient's illness at the cost of financial ruin, this does not meet our doctor's duty," Jagsi said in a press release. "It's just not acceptable to ignore patients' financial distress any longer."

The report was published in the July 23 issue of the journal Cancer .

More information [19659002] The American Cancer Society has more about the costs of cancer treatment.