Financial distress, known as “financial toxicity,” is experienced by at least a third of Canadians diagnosed with cancer, adding a significant burden on top of their diagnosis. This concern was highlighted in a Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) commentary.
Financial toxicity encompasses the wide-ranging direct, indirect, and emotional costs that patients incur following a cancer diagnosis. According to Dr Rachel Murphy of the University of British Columbia and the BC Cancer Research Institute in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with coauthor Truman Wood, this form of toxicity is gaining recognition as a significant factor influencing adverse health and cancer outcomes.
A substantial portion of cancer medication, especially those that patients can administer at home, does not receive funding from provincial healthcare plans. Additionally, only 60% of Canadians can access private insurance plans that might cover these medications. Patients face other financial challenges, such as home care costs, parking during numerous hospital visits, travel and accommodation expenses for treatment if living outside major urban areas, loss of income, childcare, and other related costs.
The authors of the commentary have pointed out that financial toxicity represents a pressing issue within Canadian cancer care, one that threatens to impact a significant number of individuals. This is especially concerning considering the anticipated increase in cancer cases in Canada, the escalating prices of new cancer treatments, and the overall rise in living costs.
The authors suggest several measures to mitigate these financial challenges: federal and provincial backing for home care and medical equipment, enhancement of benefits for sick leave and disability, and pharmacare support. Cancer centres might also introduce patient navigation programs to connect individuals with supportive services and look into providing parking fee concessions and transportation services for patients in financial distress.
The commentary underscores that those with lower incomes face the highest risk of financial burden and its consequent negative impacts, including worse health outcomes. It calls for innovations and transformations within the health system that do not ignore the crucial support needed to manage cancer’s financial burden on patients and their families.
More information: Truman F. Wood et al, Tackling financial toxicity related to cancer care in Canada, Canadian Medical Association Journal. DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.230677
Journal information: Canadian Medical Association Journal
