Patients face $9,000 cancer bill in NSW
The cost of cancer in NSW has been calculated for the first time, with a new report commissioned by The Cancer Council of NSW showing patients pay an average of $8,900 in out-of-pocket expenses.
The report, conducted by Access Economics, found that prostate cancer and breast cancer are more expensive to patients mainly due to ongoing medication and treatment, while bowel cancer and lung cancer are more expensive to the economy as a whole.
The costs are variable, depending on the type of cancer and the individual’s circumstance. For example, a young woman with breast cancer could be faced with $40,300 in lost productivity and out-of-pocket expenses, as she may need ongoing drugs on prescription and things like lymphedema sleeves and breast prostheses. A pensioner with bowel cancer would be facing costs of approximately $10,000 on average, even though a lot of his treatment will occur at hospital.
The report found that the average lifetime financial cost of cancer on a household in NSW equates to 1.7 years of annual household income.
According to the report, in 2005 at least $2.5 million was spent on providing accommodation to people with cancer by non-profit organisations in NSW.
The costs of travel and accommodation can be prohibitive for patients, particularly when many have to endure long courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy far from their home.
After years of lobbying, the government expanded the assistance available through IPTAAS so now 11,000 additional patients get assistance to travel to treatment. However, this report shows that more needs to be done as the incidence of cancer increases with the ageing of the population.
