A new study has shown cancer survivors are increasingly finding themselves in financial difficulty following treatment due to the high cost of modern medicine and hospital bills. Those that are young or low income appear to be at the greatest risk due to the lack of insurance that will cover all treatments which forces them to pay out of pocket more often. Bankruptcy seems to be the greatest threat after treatment with an earlier study indicating that the risk is twice as high for survivors than the general population. Unfortunately, it is not just the survivor that pays the price, family members often work more or cut back in order to fund medical regime that is required to outlast the disease. Some oncologist have called for increased education to warn individuals for the after treatment financial realities and give someone a chance to prepare but this is only a step towards lessening the problem. But, hopefully, this increased education combined with health care reform may eventually bring relief to the patients that must pay a potentially paralyzing cost for survival.
See, Debt, Bankruptcy are Rewards for Cancer Survivors, NBC News, January 5, 2015.
