If the Cancer Doesn't Kill You, the Drug Prices Might

News Update

If the Cancer Doesn't Kill You, the Drug Prices Might

Date

May 11, 2017

OPINION

The medical community is growing alarmed about a creeping malady that can diminish the quality of life for patients in treatment and even shorten their lives.

It’s found everywhere in the United States, but not to the same degree in other developed countries. They’re calling it “Financial Toxicity.”

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Yousuf Zafar is an oncologist and health policy researcher.

A cancer diagnosis more than doubles an American’s chance of declaring bankruptcy, Duke medical oncologist  Yousuf Zafar, MD, MHS,  told an audience of nursing faculty and students at a May 10 luncheon lecture sponsored by the Duke Center for Community and Population Health Improvement. And that bankruptcy, in turn, has been shown to decrease survival rates.

Read More on the Duke Research Blog