One quarter of Queenslanders diagnosed with cancer will pay upfront doctors’ fees of more than $20,000 in the first two years, according to a new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia. Researchers from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have investigated the financial burden faced by Australian cancer patients, calculating the out-of-pocket costs paid by 452 people who were diagnosed with cancer between November 2010 and 2011. Researchers obtained Medicare data for patients diagnosed with melanoma (200), breast cancer (84), prostate cancer (114), cancer of the colon or rectum (30), and lung cancer (24), and confirmed each diagnosis with the Queensland Cancer Registry. The study found total medical treatment fees were highest for patients with lung cancer (median $22,011) or breast cancer (median $21,581) and lowest for melanoma (median $5248). Queenslanders diagnosed with breast cancer (median $4192) or prostate (median $3175) paid the highest out-of-pocket expenses, largely due to the additional cost of surgery.
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- QIMR: http://www.qimrberghofer.edu.au/2018/06/cancer-hit-heart-back-pocket-says-queensland-research/
- Out-of-pocket medical expenses for Queenslanders with a major cancer. Medical Journal of Australia. 11 June 2018