Financial Toxicity: The Hidden Cost of Cancer Treatment (Part 1)

New Delhi, October 30: Many people succumbing to the excruciating pain, sufferings and ultimately falling prey to the dilapidated health care infrastructure in their own country is not something new to tell you about the disease - Cancer. 

But amid the range of already existing problems there is a new entrant Financial Toxicity that is a new name for growing problem.Financial Toxicity is the term introduced into the health literature by oncologist Yusuf Zafar who is gastrointestinal medical oncologist who recognized that cancer-related financial stress could be just as toxic as the effects of chemotherapy or other cancer treatments. Specifically, FT describes both measurable out-of-pocket expenses and the emotional stress associated with the high costs of cancer care. Although not always using the term financial toxicity, there has been a recent proliferation of research on similar concepts. Researchers have examined financial strain, stress, or burden in people with cancer due to cost of health insurance or treatment (especially medications, outpatient care and hospitalization), increased transportation expenses, diminished savings or retirement funds, higher debt and medical bankruptcy, greater borrowing from friends or family, eviction or home foreclosure, loss of income, and the inability to afford other basic expenses.

There are innumerable ways in which the financial toxicity harms the well being of people. It’s quite obvious that sometimes the catastrophic cost of treatment sometimes affects people ability to access and continue treatment. Which is detrimental to their survival. And another important component of financial toxicity is the emotional distress that patients experience in relation to their out-of-pocket cancer costs. This more subjective aspect of FT may have major implications for our patient’s quality of life and their ability to cope with cancer.The financial toxicity ends up taking mental and emotional toll on person’s health. 

But what exactly the cause of this problem? One reason for sure is the exorbitant and skyrocketing cost of treatment for cancer and second is due to the health infrastructure that is in shambles, miniscule allocation for the health budget, poor implementation of government health related insurance schemes together compounds this problem.