title: Five myths about cancer care in America.
abstract: In this commentary we debunk a number of the most common misconceptions about cancer treatment, such as claims that the war on cancer has been a failure and that treatment costs are unsustainable. In addition, there is good evidence that patients value these treatments more highly than traditional cost-effectiveness analysis would indicate. We argue that coverage policies placing undue burden on patients are socially wasteful and will likely discourage further innovation.
authors.affiliation: Dana P. Goldman (dana.goldman@usc.edu) is the Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair and director of the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Econcomics, University of Southern California, in Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Dana P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.affiliation: Tomas Philipson is the Daniel Levin Professor of Public Policy, Economics, and Law at the University of Chicago, in Illinois.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Philipson
mesh_terms: D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000191:economics; D014481:United States
keywords: Health Economics; Health Spending