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A nationwide survey of more than 1,000 women with metastatic breast cancer, led by researchers at the University of North Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center research center, found that almost one-third of women were born with cancer. There was no assurance and many felt significant or catastrophic financial consequences of cancer.
The study examined the extent and severity of the negative financial effects of cancer in women with breast cancer that has spread in the body. The preliminary results were presented at the symposium on the quality of care of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which was held Sept. 28-29 in Phoenix.
"Our health system needs additional interventions to try to prevent and mitigate financial toxicity, including qualified financial navigators who can identify the financial needs of patients and help them determine the number of patients." eligibility for and access to assistance programs, "said Stephanie Lineberger, UNC Lineberger. Wheeler, Ph.D., associate professor at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
For the study, researchers collaborated with the metastatic breast cancer network to investigate metastatic breast cancer patients who received a $ 10 gift certificate to Amazon to complete a questionnaire. line on their background and financial burden after treatment.
Nearly 70% of the 1,054 study participants said they were worried about financial problems related to cancer. About a third were not insured. Uninsured women were more likely to refuse or delay treatment due to costs, to avoid non-medical bills, to stop working after diagnosis or to be contacted by a collection agency. But insured women were more likely than uninsured women to report that they were stressed or financially worried, that they were caught unprepared by their personal expenses and that they did not know what would be the cost of their care in oncology.
"We were somewhat surprised to find that uninsured / self-paying cancer patients who bear the greatest material burden, in terms of inability to pay for medical and non-medical services, report global distress. lower and worry about their cancer costs compared to the insured patients, although both groups report high levels of overall financial concern, "Wheeler said.
"This may reflect the fact that insured patients with cancer are more caught off guard by the high cost of their care for cancer treatment than they expect their insurance to cover." better their expenses, while in the end, this was not the case, "Wheeler said. added. "It could also be true that insured patients, who tend to have a higher socioeconomic status, have more benefits to be lost for cancer than uninsured patients, which elicits more benefit." worry about their financial wealth and the effects of lost assets on the household. "
In one way or another, the results suggest that health insurance is an important but insufficient protective factor against financial toxicity and that identification and surveillance strategies Many aspects of financial risk are required to intervene appropriately.
Wheeler said that the magnitude and severity of financial problems after breast cancer had reached unprecedented levels in women with metastatic disease.
"This is probably due to a few factors that make metastatic patients unique: greater financial vulnerability initially, given the link between low socio-economic status and advanced diagnosis, complex and rapidly changing treatments, and the burden additional psychological life with advanced illness, "Wheeler said. "As such, providers need to be particularly attentive to the financial problems metatasics face and, to the extent possible, prioritize the provision of affordable and high-value therapies."
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