Study: Millions Of Cancer Survivors Put Off Care

By Mike Stobbe

ATLANTA (AP) — Millions of cancer survivors have put off getting medical care because they could not afford it, according to a new study. All together, more than two million of 12 million US adult cancer survivors did not get one or more needed medical services, the researchers estimate.

The study is being called the first to estimate how often current and former patients have skipped getting care because of money worries. It was led by Kathryn Weaver, PhD, a researcher at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The work was based on national surveys of more than 110,000 people, including 6,600 cancer survivors, from 2003 through 2006. It was released online June 14 by the American Cancer Society’s medical journal, Cancer.

Survey participants were asked if they had needed medical care in the previous year but did not get it because they could not afford it. Cancer survivors younger than 65 were between 1.5 and two times more likely to have said yes to that question than those who had not had cancer.

That makes sense — cancer survivors can be expected to have more health problems, said David Howard, PhD, an Emory University researcher who focuses on cancer spending.

“If anything, I was surprised it was so low,” said Dr Howard, who was not involved in the new study.

About eight percent of the cancer survivors in the survey said they had put off medical care. The survey did not ask what kinds of care they did not get — or if it was related to their cancer, Dr Weaver said.

Researchers think that only a small fraction though were getting cancer treatment at the time, and that most had gotten through their initial treatments.

About ten percent of cancer survivors also said they had to forgo filling prescriptions. Another 11 percent said they put off dental care and three percent postponed mental health services because of costs.

Other studies have concluded that the uninsured account for about four percent of newly diagnosed cancer cases, and about four percent of cancer deaths.

The new study suggests that far more than the uninsured are struggling with medical bills. Those with insurance may still have trouble paying for co-pays, deductibles, and care not covered by their plan, experts said.