Small Group of Long-Term Breast Cancer Survivors Who Face Economic Hardships Should Be Targets of Intervention

5/16/2003

From: H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 813-632-1478, MediaRelations@moffitt.usf.edu

TAMPA, Fla., May 16 -- A small group of breast cancer survivors - perhaps 11 to 12 out of every 100 -- suffer not only physically from the disease but also face diminished economic well-being, according to a study by Thomas N. Chirikos, Ph.D., a member of the cancer control program at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute.

"There is a small percentage of women who experience significant reductions in market earnings and household income over the five-year period following diagnosis and initial treatment," Chirikos says. "We ought to identify those women and do something for them."

"Most breast cancer survivors do quite well in terms of sustaining household income and earnings. But if they are unfortunate enough to develop another chronic medical condition such as a heart problem or arthritis, then their economic position becomes more precarious."

These results emerged from a National Cancer Institute-funded study. Investigators interviewed a group of 105 women who had been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer at least five years earlier as well as an equal number of women in a control group. For each group, they measured changes in the economic position of both the women and their families over the five-year period preceding the interview. They also measured changes in the health status of each group over the same five-year time frame.

Chirikos suggests doctors who treat breast-cancer survivors delve more deeply into the life situation of the women - a topic not usually fodder for office visits. "It's our impression that physicians and other clinicians may not always pick up on these economic consequences, but they should for the sake of their patients' overall well-being." If the women could be matched with resources, the adverse economic consequences could be blunted.

In 2001 the National Cancer Institute awarded Moffitt the status of a Comprehensive Cancer Center in recognition of its excellence in research and contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Additionally, Moffitt is a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, a prestigious alliance of the country's leading cancer centers, and is listed in the U.S. News & World Report as one of the Top 10 cancer hospitals in America. Moffitt's sole mission is to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer.