Cancer sufferers borrow to cover costs

PEOPLE DIAGNOSED with cancer are having to take out loans to cover the costs associated with their illness, a new study has found.

The research by the National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI) found the loans have been taken out to cover costs such as childcare, home help services, wigs, household bills and day-to-day expenses which would not normally be a problem if the patient was able to continue working.

The qualitative study, conducted between December 2006 to August 2007, comprised interviews with 21 oncology social workers in 11 hospitals and 21 cancer patients who were treated at eight hospitals across the State.

It is now being followed up with a large-scale study of hundreds of patients to see if the findings are nationally representative. The results of that study will be known before the end of the year.

Participants in the qualitative study made several recommendations to minimise patient hardship and improve services. They felt there should be an automatic entitlement to a medical card for cancer patients for the duration of their illness and also a fast-tracked application process to get them.

In addition, participants felt there should be trained community welfare officers in hospitals to deal with cancer patients.

Dr Harry Comber, director of the NCRI, said while it was known transport and overnight accommodation were costs incurred by cancer patients undergoing treatment, he was surprised at the range of costs which they found problematic from childcare to heating bills.

He said the study also found that, while there were benefits available to some patients diagnosed with cancer, it was “hard enough to access” them and there was huge uncertainty around entitlements.

He added that transport costs would become an even bigger issue now with the centralisation of cancer services at eight hospitals. This issue “really needs to be tackled in some sort of decisive way now”, he said.

On the costs associated with a cancer diagnosis, Dr Comber said some people in the study mentioned that their savings had been hugely eroded, some mentioned they had to borrow money to keep going and some said they were forced to rely on relatives for financial support.

“I think overall it does confirm that for most people cancer does bring a substantial financial burden and that while not all of that can ever be addressed there were some aspects which could be remedied,” he said.

The study, funded by the Irish Cancer Society, found substantial groups of people were especially vulnerable when they had to deal with the increased costs of a cancer diagnosis. These included those with little family support, elderly patients, patients with young children, working-age patients, lone parents, younger patients, self-employed patients, patients living alone, patients in rural areas, farmers and non-nationals.

John McCormack, chief executive of the society, said it would be making recommendations to the Department of Health to help alleviate the financial burden on cancer patients and their families.

Meanwhile, a separate study, conducted on the parenting website rollercoaster.ie in August and published yesterday, found 64.5 per cent of 403 adults surveyed had postponed a visit to their GP because of the cost. This was despite the fact that most were in an income bracket which allowed them pay for private health insurance.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times