Although medicine has been through tremendous progress in recent decades and cancer is no longer synonymous with a death sentence, the disease remains the second leading cause of death worldwide.
According to Daily Mail, a new study by Dr. Christopher Noel, the author, and initiated by the University of Toronto and involving 555 people, indicates that cancer is a lot more likely to come back if the patient belongs to a poorer household. There’s a concerning cost of living crisis, and many cancer patients are at risk of not being able to afford medical care or other costs related to living a comfortable life during treatment.
Earning less than £19,000 can make you at higher risk of cancer return
The new study has shown that two years after receiving treatment, a third of the patients who live in households that earn less than £19,000 had to deal with cancer recurrence. As for those patients that live in households earning £56,000, only 12 percent of them have seen their cancer coming back.
Dr. Noel explained as Daily Mail quotes:
We asked very personal questions about how much money they made every year and asked them to keep track of out of pocket costs they were incurring.
It really highlighted to us that particularly those making less than $30,000 (£19,000) are disproportionately affected.
Dr. David Pinato from Imperial College London stated, as the same source quotes:
I think the cost of living crisis in the UK will have an immediate impact on cancer patients.
Cancer treatment is nothing easy, as the body needs to be under the right living conditions. This includes consuming the right diet as well as living in a comfortable and healthy environment.
The new findings were presented at the American Society of the conference of Clinical Oncology.