Cancer isn’t just emotionally and physically taxing: It can take a steep financial toll on patients, caregivers, and families.
In fact, two years after a diagnosis, adults with cancer are 71% more likely to experience financial problems than those without a cancer diagnosis, according to January 2022 research in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. This type of financial hardship due to medical bills is sometimes referred to as financial toxicity, or when out-of-pocket medical costs not covered by health insurance cause money problems for a patient.
Cancer care costs vary widely by the type of disease and the stage at which it’s diagnosed. Insurance claims for an initial kidney cancer diagnosis average about $39,500 annually, according to July 2020 research in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, & Prevention. For end-of-life kidney cancer care, that number can stretch to an average of $92,300 a year, with an additional $11,400 for prescription medications.
If you have insurance, you aren’t responsible for all of that, but depending on your coverage, you can still owe thousands. Some people with cancer say they spend more than 20% of their annual income on medical care, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Joe Gillette, 58, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is intimately familiar with these statistics. A long-khbrknews American Cancer Society (ACS) volunteer, he was shocked when he received his own diagnosis, on August 5, 2022, his 57th birthday: stage 4 kidney cancer that had spread to his lungs, stomach, and brain.
Gillette’s treatment plan called for brain surgery first, which would require a week’s hospital stay, then radiation and immunotherapy. He planned to be out of his job as an attorney for a week. Due to complications, he ended up in a coma for two and a half months, and his office put him on disability leave. There was a six-month wait for the payments to kick in.
“Thankfully with my wife working, we were able to barely cover the mortgage,” he says. “We…
