Dr Yip said the phenomenon is reflected in the findings of the 2011 Asean Costs in Oncology (Action) Study involving 9513 cancer patients (64pc were women) in eight low and middle-income countries in Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam). Breast cancer was the commonest of all.
Some 1662 cancer patients in Malaysia participated in the study.
The Action study showed that in Malaysia, 45pc of households experienced financial catastrophe (defined as spending more than 30pc of household income on cancer treatment). These are out-of-pockets (OOP) defined as payments that are not covered by insurance or government. "They (45pc) experienced economic hardship (defined as inability to pay for medicine, medical consultation or tests, rent, mortgage, school fees, medical expenses) at one-year after diagnosis," she shared in shedding light on the economic impact of cancer diagnosis on daily lives of Malaysians.
On the coping mechanisms, Dr Yip, who is also Clinical Professor of University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), said these include using savings set aside for other use (53pc), asking for financial assistance from family and friends (47pc), seeking financial assistance from government/community (31pc), selling assets (4pc) and personal loan (2pc).
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