Cancer is expensive. From the day you are diagnosed, the mental, emotional, and physical toll increases. You may lose your freedom, even if only temporarily, because your future dreams are put on hold. It may manifest itself as loss of organs, perhaps breasts, perhaps even hair. Reproductive health, intimacy, or social relationships may be impaired. It costs too many people their lives.
And if that isn't enough, it also costs you financially. Despite living in a country with universal health care, many people in Canada pay out of pocket for life-saving and life-enhancing products and services. Things like tests, medications, prosthetics, assistive products, post-operative supplies, and caregiver costs. And then there are the travel costs faced by many people in this vast country, especially those in rural and remote communities. This includes transportation to and from routine oncology appointments, chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and accommodation, especially for those traveling further afield.
These costs are especially crippling in today's economy, where the cost of living is soaring and millions of Canadians are struggling to make ends meet.
The reality is that cancer is not something we plan for and certainly not something most people budget for. So when you get diagnosed
It was a hit, financially devastating. Studies have shown that cancer patients in Canada spend about $260 a month on out-of-pocket costs. In a recent Angus Reid survey, 90% of respondents said a surprise cancer diagnosis would impact their household finances, with 30% saying they would have to go into debt to pay for the out-of-pocket costs of a cancer diagnosis.