CancerCare, According To New National Survey (NAPSA)—Nearly double the num- ber of Americans in rural areas versus nonrural areasreported having an insuf- ficient number of cancer doctors near wherethey live. This is one of the many findings from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)’s second annual National Cancer Opinion Sur- vey, which was conducted online by The Harris Poll. According to the survey, rural Americans are the most concernedaboutthe Survey shows Americans worry theylive: of cancercari availability of cancer care near where aboutthe cost and the availability + Four in 10 rural Americans whohave or hadcancersay there aren't enough doctors specializing in cancer care near their home, comparedto 22 per- cent of urban and suburbanpatients. + Rural patients spend an average of 50 minutestraveling one wayto see their cancer doctor, versus 30 minutes for nonruralpatients. + Thirty-six percentof patients in rural areassaythey hadtotravel too far to see the doctor managing their cancer care versus 19 percentof nonruralpatients. “The unfortunate reality is that rural Americans routinely have to travel long distances for cancer care, which can lead. to dangerous delaysin their diagnosis and treatment,’ said ASCO President Monica Bertagnolli, M.D, FACS, FASCO.“As. result, rural counties have higher death rates from many common cancers than urban areas. Our health care system needs to address these disparities so that every patient, no matter where he orshelives, can access high-quality cancer care” The survey also found that Americans from all parts of the country are worried about the cost of cancer care. If faced with a cancer diagnosis, 57 percent of Americans say they would be most concerned about the financial impactontheir families or about paying for treatment, compared to 54 percent, each, whosay they would be most concerned about dying or about cancer-re- lated pain andsuffering. Even more than patients, family caregivers bear the brunt of the high costofcancertreatment: + Among caregivers responsible for paying for cancer care, nearly three in four (74 percent) say they're concerned aboutaffordingit. + More than six in 10 caregivers (61 per- cent) say they or anotherrelative has taken an extremestep to help pay for their loved one’s care, including work- ingextra hours(23 percent), postpon- ingretirement(14 percent), taking on an additional job (13 percent) orsell- ingfamily heirlooms(9percent). “Patients are right to be concerned aboutthe financial impact of a cancer diagnosis on their families” said ASCO Chief Medical Officer Richard L.Schil- sky, M.D., FACP, FASCO.“It’sclear that high treatmentcosts are takinga serious toll not only onpatients, butalso on the people whocare for them.If a family memberhas been diagnosed with cancer, the sole focus should be on helping him orherget well. Instead, Americans are worrying aboutaffording treatment, andin manycases, they're making seriouspersonalsacrifices to help pay for their loved ones’ care.” Despite challenges accessing can- cer care due to cost and travel time, the overwhelming majority of Ameri- cansare happy with the cancer care they havereceived: Nearly nine in 10 peo- ple with cancerbelieve they have gotten high-quality care andare satisfied with the quality of the doctors who special- ize in cancer care near wherethey live (88-89 percent). ‘The national survey, commissioned by ASCO,was conducted online by The Harris Poll from July 10-August 10, 2017 among 4,887 U.S. adults ages 18 andolder. Of these adults, 1,001 have or had cancer. Further information is available at wwwaasco.org; use search term “National Cancer Opinion Survey?
