標題: Personal cost of cancer treatment tough financially, poll finds [打印本頁] 作者: tiffiant 時間: 2010-9-29 23:39 標題: Personal cost of cancer treatment tough financially, poll finds
Personal cost of cancer treatment tough financially, poll finds
Most Canadians say if they were diagnosed with cancer, the out-of-pocket cost of treating the disease would be a drain on their personal finances, with more than half calling it a "major" impact once the cost of newer drugs was factored in.
The new poll — released Wednesday and conducted by Pollara for the Canadian Cancer Society — found 58 per cent of those surveyed said the high personal cost of more recent cancer drugs would make things difficult financially, with 10 per cent saying they would not be able to afford the drugs at all.
The poll said more than 80 per cent of respondents supported federal action to help ease the burden and to level the differences between provinces in terms of out-of-pocket cancer drug costs.
Just over half of Canadians — 53 per cent — would "strongly support" the federal government stepping in to address the matter, and among those already diagnosed with some form of cancer that figure skyrockets to 90 per cent.
Andrew Goodridge, 43, was diagnosed in March 2009 with colorectal cancer, which had already spread to his liver. The Fredericton man was advised by a number of doctors to use a combination of chemotherapy and the drug Avastin to shrink the tumour prior to surgery, but the provincial government did not cover the costs linked to Avastin at the time.
After much lobbying, that one drug is now covered by the province and incoming Tory premier David Alward has pledged a catastrophic drug program for the province, which Goodridge said is a major step in the right direction.
"From a provincial level, I feel my fight is finished with New Brunswick and this new government is going to implement what they can on a catastrophic drug program, but I really feel the onus of the program rests at the feet of the federal government," said Goodridge, originally from St. John's.
His annual cost of Avastin is about $72,000, but Goodridge was "very fortunate" that fundraising activities and other donations put $125,000 towards the drugs and eased the financial strike作者: tiffiant 時間: 2010-9-29 23:39
Personal cost of cancer treatment tough financially, poll finds
By Bradley Bouzane, Postmedia News September 29, 2010 Comments (12)
•Story•Photos ( 1 )•Video ( 1 ) ICON
Just over half of Canadians — 53 per cent — said would "strongly support" the federal government stepping in to address the matter and among those already diagnosed with some form of cancer, that figure skyrockets to 90 per cent.Photograph by: File, Postmedia NewsMost Canadians say if they were diagnosed with cancer, the out-of-pocket cost of treating the disease would be a drain on their personal finances, with more than half calling it a "major" impact once the cost of newer drugs was factored in.
The new poll — released Wednesday and conducted by Pollara for the Canadian Cancer Society — found 58 per cent of those surveyed said the high personal cost of more recent cancer drugs would make things difficult financially, with 10 per cent saying they would not be able to afford the drugs at all.
The poll said more than 80 per cent of respondents supported federal action to help ease the burden and to level the differences between provinces in terms of out-of-pocket cancer drug costs.
Just over half of Canadians — 53 per cent — would "strongly support" the federal government stepping in to address the matter, and among those already diagnosed with some form of cancer that figure skyrockets to 90 per cent.
Andrew Goodridge, 43, was diagnosed in March 2009 with colorectal cancer, which had already spread to his liver. The Fredericton man was advised by a number of doctors to use a combination of chemotherapy and the drug Avastin to shrink the tumour prior to surgery, but the provincial government did not cover the costs linked to Avastin at the time.
After much lobbying, that one drug is now covered by the province and incoming Tory premier David Alward has pledged a catastrophic drug program for the province, which Goodridge said is a major step in the right direction.
"From a provincial level, I feel my fight is finished with New Brunswick and this new government is going to implement what they can on a catastrophic drug program, but I really feel the onus of the program rests at the feet of the federal government," said Goodridge, originally from St. John's.
His annual cost of Avastin is about $72,000, but Goodridge was "very fortunate" that fundraising activities and other donations put $125,000 towards the drugs and eased the financial strike.
"It was great to get the money, but it was very difficult in the summer of 2009 going into oncology and realizing that a lot of people couldn't afford their drugs," said Goodridge. "It's really shocking that Canada's most vulnerable citizens are left to fend for themselves."
Despite having a "high five-figure salary" and high-end insurance coverage, including personal disability, Goodridge said he would have been bankrupt within four years without financial support to cover the drug costs.
Respondents said the average cost patients should have to pay out-of-pocket for cancer drugs was 16 per cent of the cost, with a clear majority (69 per cent), saying patients should be on the hook for between zero and 24 per cent of the financial weight.
Some 74 per cent of Canadians said they supported a federally funded national drug insurance program that would see the government pay for all prescription medications approved for Canadian use. Forty-six per cent said they strongly supported that option. Seventy per cent said they would support a federal program that would co-pay with the patient and cover all costs beyond three per cent of the patient's net income.
Since his diagnosis, Goodridge has had the primary tumour removed along with 15 lymph nodes. Now his liver is the only cancer site remaining, and on Aug. 23, Goodridge had 20 per cent of it removed.
If everything goes according to plan, Goodridge is hoping to have 80 per cent of the regenerating organ removed in early November.
A 2009 report from the Canadian Cancer Society focused on the large province-by-province difference in the amount of money required from patients.
The report, titled Cancer Drug Access for Canadians, says Canada's system of drug benefits — which combines public and private plans, with varying levels of coverage and access to certain drugs — is leading to financial hardship for many cancer patients. That report said some patients opt out of treatment because of the staggering personal cost.
Each province has its own list of drugs approved for use and covered by the province, at least in part. That means a cancer patient in Prince Edward Island could be completely on the hook for a prescription — which could cost as much as $65,000 per year — while someone in Ontario might pay $2,700 and a patient in British Columbia pays nothing.
On Thursday, the Canadian Cancer Society, along with the Canadian Cancer Action
network and the Public Policy Forum, is co-hosting a symposium on cancer drug access in Ottawa.
For Wednesday's poll, more than 2,300 Canadian adults were surveyed online by Polara between Sept. 9 and 13.
The results are considered accurate within two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.作者: tiffiant 時間: 2010-9-29 23:40
Just over half of Canadians — 53 per cent — said would "strongly support" the federal government stepping in to address the matter and among those already diagnosed with some form of cancer, that figure skyrockets to 90 per cent作者: 快樂牛郎 時間: 2010-9-30 00:06
ha, this time it would cost less in the states as drugs are covered作者: mukmuk2 時間: 2010-9-30 06:08
