Cancer sufferers want to know the cash cost
Posted
by DPS
Australians with terminal cancer want to be told by their doctors about highly expensive drugs, which could add time to their lives, even if they could not afford them.
A recent survey found that more than 40% of cancer specialists did not tell their patients about new unsubsidised drug treatments, which often cost at least $5,000 a month.
The information was withheld for fear of distressing ill people further about options which were usually financially out of reach.
But a new Australian study demonstrated that more than 90% of people would want to be informed, even though only 50% said they would be either willing or able to find the funds to pay for the expensive drug treatments.
