Personal finances affect cancer survivors’ medication use

 

Adult cancer survivors under the age of 65 are more likely to alter their use of prescription drugs for financial reasons than are those without a history of cancer, according to a report published online Feb. 20.

Among nonelderly adults, 31.6% of those who had been diagnosed within the previous 2 years and 27.9% of those who had been diagnosed 2 or more years earlier reported a change in prescription drug use for financial reasons, compared with 21.4% of adults without a history of cancer, said Zhiyuan Zheng, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, Atlanta, and his associates (Cancer 2017 Feb 20. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30560).

“Specifically, nonelderly cancer survivors were more likely to skip medication, delay filling a prescription, ask their doctor for lower-cost medication, and use alternative therapies for financial reasons, compared with nonelderly individuals without a cancer history,” Ahmedin Jemal, PhD, also of the ACS and the report’s senior author, said in a written statement.

The differences between cancer survivors and those with no cancer history were much smaller for those aged 65 years and over: 24.9% of recent survivors and 21.8% of previous survivors changed their behavior for financial reasons, compared with 20.4% for those with no history of cancer, according to the analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey for 2011-2014.

No funding source for the study was disclosed, and the investigators did not make any disclosures of conflicts of interest.
 

[email protected]

 

Adult cancer survivors under the age of 65 are more likely to alter their use of prescription drugs for financial reasons than are those without a history of cancer, according to a report published online Feb. 20.

Among nonelderly adults, 31.6% of those who had been diagnosed within the previous 2 years and 27.9% of those who had been diagnosed 2 or more years earlier reported a change in prescription drug use for financial reasons, compared with 21.4% of adults without a history of cancer, said Zhiyuan Zheng, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, Atlanta, and his associates (Cancer 2017 Feb 20. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30560).

“Specifically, nonelderly cancer survivors were more likely to skip medication, delay filling a prescription, ask their doctor for lower-cost medication, and use alternative therapies for financial reasons, compared with nonelderly individuals without a cancer history,” Ahmedin Jemal, PhD, also of the ACS and the report’s senior author, said in a written statement.

The differences between cancer survivors and those with no cancer history were much smaller for those aged 65 years and over: 24.9% of recent survivors and 21.8% of previous survivors changed their behavior for financial reasons, compared with 20.4% for those with no history of cancer, according to the analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey for 2011-2014.

No funding source for the study was disclosed, and the investigators did not make any disclosures of conflicts of interest.
 

[email protected]

 

Adult cancer survivors under the age of 65 are more likely to alter their use of prescription drugs for financial reasons than are those without a history of cancer, according to a report published online Feb. 20.

Among nonelderly adults, 31.6% of those who had been diagnosed within the previous 2 years and 27.9% of those who had been diagnosed 2 or more years earlier reported a change in prescription drug use for financial reasons, compared with 21.4% of adults without a history of cancer, said Zhiyuan Zheng, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, Atlanta, and his associates (Cancer 2017 Feb 20. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30560).

“Specifically, nonelderly cancer survivors were more likely to skip medication, delay filling a prescription, ask their doctor for lower-cost medication, and use alternative therapies for financial reasons, compared with nonelderly individuals without a cancer history,” Ahmedin Jemal, PhD, also of the ACS and the report’s senior author, said in a written statement.

The differences between cancer survivors and those with no cancer history were much smaller for those aged 65 years and over: 24.9% of recent survivors and 21.8% of previous survivors changed their behavior for financial reasons, compared with 20.4% for those with no history of cancer, according to the analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey for 2011-2014.

No funding source for the study was disclosed, and the investigators did not make any disclosures of conflicts of interest.
 

[email protected]