Anchored by debt: When cancer holds families hostage

Irrespective of their economic status, people need assistance in understanding the costs of cancer care, filing health insurance claims and accessing financial resources. — Unsplash

AROUND one in two households in South-East Asia with a cancer patient will spend more than a third of their income on treatment.

The Asean Costs in Oncology (ACTION) study, involving almost 10,000 cancer-stricken households in eight low- and middle-income countries, showed 48% of patients and their families made catastrophic out-of-pocket cancer-related expenditures within a year after a cancer diagnosis.