title: Financial Hardship Associated With Cancer in the United States: Findings From a Population-Based Sample of Adult Cancer Survivors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the prevalence of financial hardship associated with cancer in the United States and identify characteristics of cancer survivors associated with financial hardship.
  
  
  METHODS
  We identified 1,202 adult cancer survivors diagnosed or treated at ≥ 18 years of age from the 2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Experiences With Cancer questionnaire. Material financial hardship was measured by ever (1) borrowing money or going into debt, (2) filing for bankruptcy, (3) being unable to cover one's share of medical care costs, or (4) making other financial sacrifices because of cancer, its treatment, and lasting effects of treatment. Psychological financial hardship was measured as ever worrying about paying large medical bills. We examined factors associated with any material or psychological financial hardship using separate multivariable logistic regression models stratified by age group (18 to 64 and ≥ 65 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Material financial hardship was more common in cancer survivors age 18 to 64 years than in those ≥ 65 years of age (28.4% v 13.8%; P < .001), as was psychological financial hardship (31.9% v 14.7%, P < .001). In adjusted analyses, cancer survivors age 18 to 64 years who were younger, female, nonwhite, and treated more recently and who had changed employment because of cancer were significantly more likely to report any material financial hardship. Cancer survivors who were uninsured, had lower family income, and were treated more recently were more likely to report psychological financial hardship. Among cancer survivors ≥ 65 years of age, those who were younger were more likely to report any financial hardship.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cancer survivors, especially the working-age population, commonly experience material and psychological financial hardship.
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA. robin.yabroff@hhs.gov.
authors.forename: K Robin
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Yabroff
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Emily C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Dowling
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Gery P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Guy
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Matthew P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Banegas
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Davidoff
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Xuesong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Katherine S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Virgo
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Timothy S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: McNeel
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Neetu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chawla
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blanch-Hartigan
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Erin E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Kent
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Chunyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Juan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Janet S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: de Moor
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Zhiyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Ahmedin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jemal
authors.affiliation: K. Robin Yabroff, Matthew P. Banegas, Neetu Chawla, Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Erin E. Kent, and Janet S. de Moor, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda; Timothy S. McNeel, Information Management Services, Calverton, MD; Emily C. Dowling, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Bentley University, Waltham, MA; Gery P. Guy Jr, Chunyu Li, Juan L. Rodriguez, and Donatus U. Ekwueme, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Xuesong Han, Zhiyuan Zheng, and Ahmedin Jemal, American Cancer Society; Katherine S. Virgo, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Amy Davidoff, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT; and Neetu Chawla, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA.
authors.forename: Donatus U
authors.initials: DU
authors.lastname: Ekwueme
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017741:Survivors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult