Cancer survival rates are increasing but at a greater financial cost that is pushing patients and carers further into hardship.
The Cancer Council says 2.6 million Australians will live with, or beyond, cancer by 2050 but face increasing costs to do so.
The finding was contained in a new McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer report into Victorian cancer patients which has prompted Cancer Council Australia to call for urgent reform.
Council’s Australia Director of Cancer Control Policy David Martin says the findings reveal a system in urgent need of reform.
“Five-year survival has risen from around 46% in 1986 to 72% today. That is something to celebrate but surviving is only part of the story,” he says.
“Every person in the McCabe Centre research faced out-of-pocket costs. Nearly one in three lost income yet the majority received no government financial support at all.
COUNTING THE COSTS OF CANCER
“People in the most disadvantaged areas are already more likely to die; when the system then adds financial and legal stress on top of that, it is failing the people who need it most,” Martin says.
“A cancer diagnosis should not destroy someone’s livelihood. It should not come down to whether a person happened to have savings or income protection insurance. That is not equitable; as more Australians live longer with cancer, this problem will only grow.”
Recent projections from The Daffodil Centre estimate that nearly 1.7 million Australians live with, or beyond, the disease which will rise to 2.6 million by 2050.
The report interviewed more than 200 Victorians living with it or providing unpaid care but the council says these experiences are shared across the country.
KEY FINDINGS
- Every single participant reported out-of-pocket costs.
- More than 95% reported emotional due to financial hardship.
- 30% of patients lost income.
- 64% received no government financial support.
- Among carers, 78% received no government support while 32% had lost income.
- Only 3% of workers with the disease reported receiving information about their workplace rights.
- 87% of patients who reported workplace challenges said those challenges caused them distress.
- 100% of carers facing workplace difficulties say it caused distress.
- Existing leave arrangements did not match the realities of long-term treatment or care.
- 41% of patients experienced legal issues; 81% did not fully expect them and 79% did not see a lawyer.
- For carers, 67% reported facing legal issues such as financial hardship and debt, access to government support and insurance, and navigating legal decision-making.
The full report is available at mccabecentre.org.
Cancer Council’s free information and support line (13 11 20) is available to anyone affected by the disease.
