Recent research suggests that 73% of patients with cancer do not discuss the cost of care with their care team, published by the Cancer Support Community (July 18, 2017).
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The Cancer Support Community—an international nonprofit organization—released a research report titled “Insight into the Patient Experience: Cancer Experience Registry Report 2017.” It is the second report published by the Cancer Support Community’s Research and Training Institute, which uses clinical data of over 12,000 patients and 45 caregivers of different cancer types. The latest report suggests that a lack of communication between patients and their care team about cost of care results in financial toxicity for patients with cancer.
Other significant findings from the report include:
- 93 percent of patients said quality of life is a very important factor when weighing treatment options
- 39 percent of survivors rate their overall health as very good or excellent
- 53 percent of survivors are worried about the future and what lies ahead
- 73 percent of patients reported not discussing the cost of care with their care team
- 24 percent of patients did not feel prepared to discuss treatment options with their doctor
- 47 percent of patients are at substantial risk of clinically significant levels of depression
- 43 percent of patients noted lack of transportation as an obstacle stopping them from participating in a clinical trial
- 30 percent of patients surveyed said they depleted their savings because of treatment costs
The report found that patient adherence to treatment is poorer when emotional distress and financial burden are high. Furthermore, patients experiencing financial burden and at high risk for depression are significantly more likely to have suboptimal treatment adherence compared with patients experiencing financial burden alone.
“Traditional big data helps us personalize treatment, but when you do not account for the patient’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors it can derail the entire treatment plan leading to poor quality of care and patient outcomes,” said Linda House, RN, BSN, MSM, president of the Cancer Support Community.
The organization plans to release data from 10 specialty registries to identify unique challenges of different cancer diagnoses, including breast cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, lung cancer, melanoma, metastatic breast cancer, multiple myeloma, prostate cancer, and gastric cancer.—Zachary Bessette
