Breast cancer survivors say disease decimates finances, sinks many into debt Winnipeg Free Press
TORONTO - The toll of breast cancer extends beyond its effect on a person's physical and psychological health, says a new report which outlines the substantial financial burden the disease places on the women and men who develop it.
The study, commissioned by the survivor group the Canadian Breast Cancer Network, explores a side of breast cancer few think about unless they or a loved one has dealt with the diagnosis.
Based on a survey of 446 breast cancer survivors, it shows 44 per cent drained their savings and another 27 per cent had to borrow money to cover treatment costs.
"We are in debt so far that I do not sleep at night and am paralyzed by fear that recurrence or metastases will make us bankrupt," the report quotes one respondent as admitting.
The group released the report at a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, hoping to garner political support for changes that would ease the financial burden on breast cancer patients.
"A diagnosis of breast cancer should be the beginning of a healing journey, not a descent into poverty and despair," the report said.
