The Financial Burden of Thyroid Cancer Treatment
*Shen Li, *Sarah Duncan, *Anam Choudhary, *Simran Budhwani, Benjamin C James
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Background: Thyroid cancer has been reported to have the highest bankruptcy rate compared to all of cancer types. Despite these findings, there have been no studies evaluating the financial impact of thyroid cancer at a granular level. In this study, we sought to assess the effects of thyroid cancer survivorship and its financial impact on patients.
Method: A single institution database was used to identify thyroid cancer survivors. Patients were contacted by phone to complete a survey that included questions regarding personal demographics, annual income, financial loss after surgery, bankruptcy rate, concern for disease recurrence, as well as anxiety of medical bills.
Results: 64 patients who underwent thyroid surgery for thyroid cancer (9-39 months post-operation) completed the financial burden survey. The majority of patients reported an annual household income >$150,000 (n=19, 32.2%). 23.4% of respondents reported a negative financial impact (n=15) and 21.9% reported lost income after cancer diagnosis (n=14). 78.6% reported a loss of < $10,000 and none filed for bankruptcy. However, 28.2% reported worrying about medical bills (n=18) and over 50% worried about cancer recurrence affecting their responsibilities at home or work (n=33). Finally, 26.6% of respondents did not feel they were adequately informed about costs related to their diagnosis (n=17).
Conclusion: Projecting the economic burden of cancer is becoming increasingly important for health care policy makers. In this study we demonstrated that despite being mostly well-educated, and financially affluent, thyroid cancer survivors are still vulnerable to the financial burden associated with thyroid cancer. This includes the lack of preparation by the provider, lost wages, bills, emotional stress despite being surgically cured.
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