A cancer diagnosis not only takes a serious toll on a person’s health, it can also devastate their finances.
Research presented at a recent meeting of the American College of Surgeons found that cancer patients are nearly five times more likely to experience bankruptcy than those without the disease, with higher debt collection rates.
“If you have medical bills, that converts to debt, which converts to collections, and in some cases that will result in a person going bankrupt,” says the study leader, Benjamin C. James, MD, the chief of general surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Credit Scores Can Take a Major Hit After Cancer
Dr. James says the credit score findings are perhaps the most significant metric, because they provide a holistic picture of a person’s financial health.
“We see a significant decrease in somebody’s overall financial health that sustains for many, many years after their cancer diagnosis,” he says. “It’s really quite shocking that not only do credit scores go down after a diagnosis, but they never come back up.”
Furthermore, analysis revealed that the impact on credit scores was greater among patients with bladder, liver, lung, and colorectal cancers than for those with other types of cancers.
In addition to being diagnosed at younger ages, some of these cancers require more expensive treatment and more frequent surveillance, making them more costly in the long run, according to James.
Costs Go Beyond Treatment
Numbers from the National Cancer Institute give some idea of just how costly cancer can be.
“Cancer treatment can be very expensive and at the same time can cause patients, their loved ones, and longer-term survivors to miss work, lose income, and even become permanently disabled and unable to work at jobs they held prior to their cancer diagnosis,” says Claire Saxton, the executive vice president of insights and impact with the Cancer Support Community.
Although complete research is yet to be published, the results presented so far in the scientific abstracts rely on real-world financial evidence, which helps give a more concrete picture of cancer’s financial impact, according to Saxton.
Treatment Variables and Other Factors Impact Finances
The scientists found that patients who had only radiation as treatment had credit scores 62 points lower than those who had only surgery. Those who had chemotherapy had credit scores 14 points lower than those with surgery alone.
Other factors associated with a worsening financial situation included as Black or Hispanic identity, not being married, living in a low-income area, not owning a home, and having an income below a median of $52,000 a year, according to the latest research.
“The relationship between cancer and its financial impact, often called financial toxicity, extends beyond clinical factors like diagnosis and treatment and is also shaped by social determinants of health and demographic characteristics,” says Saxton. “This is why financial toxicity should not be examined in isolation, but in consideration of these various clinical, social, and demographic factors.”
Being younger than 62 is another demographic characteristic that is tied to financial struggle. While it may not be readily clear why this younger population takes a harder financial hit when it comes to cancer, Saxton speculates that older adults often have more savings, less debt, and fewer overall expenses.
“Those younger than 62 lose out on being able to maximize their career paths and incomes when coping with the impact of cancer,” she says.
James notes that the latest study findings are especially striking because Massachusetts mandates universal healthcare coverage.
“This persistence of financial challenge — even in a state with relatively high insurance coverage — calls for broader policy changes and reforms, including reconsidering debt collection practices,” he says. “Further research is needed, but I think financial security should be a priority in cancer care.”
Steps You Can Take to Soften the Financial Blow
Since people do not typically plan for cancer, many will inevitably face financial challenges following a diagnosis and during treatment.
The Cancer Support Community advises people facing cancer to take practical measures to mitigate financial distress.
- Ask your healthcare provider to recommend a financial counselor or navigator who can help you find assistance before you go into debt to pay for treatment.
- Ask your healthcare provider what treatments cost. You can also ask if there are any treatments that are just as effective but would cost less or if there are treatments that would make it easier for you to continue working during and after treatment.
- If you have a healthcare plan, know what is covered. Ask which doctors, hospitals, tests, X-rays, or drugs they will cover before you choose.
- If you are paying out-of-pocket or are uninsured, ask if you can negotiate a discount.
- If you are uninsured, contact a financial counselor or patient support organization for help finding coverage.
Reach out to the Cancer Support Community’s Cancer Support Helpline at 888-793-9355. They have financial navigators who can help. Other groups that help with financial counseling include Triage Cancer and Patient Advocate Foundation.
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