A new study shows the financial crisis that has impacted people around the world has lead to more cancer deaths. The study, published in the Lancet Medical Journal, shows half a million cancer-related deaths have occurred between 2008 and 2010 due to unemployment or the lack of health insurance.

Observations made during this study showed a connection between the number of cancer deaths and the rate of unemployment. As unemployment rates rose, cancer deaths increased. The same correlation was seen between reductions in public health care dollars and cancer-related deaths.

More Unemployment = Higher Death Rate

In the U.S., during the period from 2008 to 2010, it is estimated that about 18,000 cancer patients died from a lack of treatment due to unemployment or insufficient healthcare coverage.

Globally, cancer caused over a million deaths in 2012. Since cancer is a primary cause of death throughout the world, it is important to understand how financial challenges related to patient survival rates. Although the connection between cancer and financial suffering has been noted, the availability of public health coverage can limit the impact.

The Lancet study that reviewed the correlation between cancer deaths and the global financial crisis analyzed statistical findings from over 70 countries. The reviewed data, which was collected by the World Bank and the World Health Organization, was particularly relevant, because it included information from a large time period, spanning 20 years (1990 - 2000).

Findings showed that as unemployment rates increased by one percent, an additional 0.37 cancer-related deaths occurred for every 100,000 patients. A similar trend occurred with declines in healthcare spending. There were 0.0053 additional deaths for every 100,000 patients as healthcare spending dropped by one percent.

Patients who are employed and have health insurance are more likely to be diagnosed early and receive adequate care. However, once a patient loses his or her job, he or she may not be diagnosed in time to receive the treatment needed.

The study's findings provide supportive evidence for universal healthcare coverage. However, currently, many cancer patients are still unable to afford treatment. Products, such as those offered by onPoint Oncology may help.

A new study finds that cancer patients who are skating on thin financial ice suffer worse symptoms, more pain, and reduced quality of life than those who have more money in the bank to fall back on.

In particular, colon and lung cancer patients with two or less months of funds had a substantially poorer quality of life than those who had more than a year of financial reserves.

The study findings, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on February 29, 2016, involved more than 3,400 patients.

Less Savings = More Pain

At the time of their cancer diagnosis, patients who already weak in financial reserves tended to have higher physical impairment, more in-depth depression, and experience pain to a greater extent than those with stronger finances, the researchers note.

Lead author of the study Dr. Christopher Lathan, who is also medical director of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, in Boston, put the results in clear perspective when he commented that a patient’s suffering tended to rise as his finances dwindled.

The authors comment that the quality of life implications wasn't necessarily related to having a high or low income. Rather, it is the worry and stress related to the financial strain that makes the impact. In other words, people with a low income may have financial reserves because they saved for a rainy day, while those with a high income may have lived just within or even beyond their means. Financial strain, Lathan said, “stands alone”. "It actually had its own effect, separate from race and income," he explains.

While the researchers don’t know exactly why the two-month financial reserves mark seems to be the break-even point in terms of the quality of life effects for these cancer patients.

The researchers conclude that the identification of patients who need intensive support may be helped by assessment of financial reserves. In addition, Lathan advises that the medical community should take steps to help financially weak cancer patients.

Tips for Patients to Ease the Financial Pain

Cancer patients should let their oncologists know if they have financial worries right from the start. They should make use of social workers in cancer wards who can help them navigate their insurance, find applicable clinical trials, assist them with transportation needs, and help them obtain the best price for their prescriptions.