Racial and ethnic disparities in financial toxicity among cancer survivors: implications for equity in survivorship care.

INTRODUCTION

Financial toxicity (FT) represents a significant challenge for cancer survivors, disproportionately affecting racial and ethnic minorities. This study examines income and wealth changes among cancer survivors and explores the implications for survivorship care equity.

METHODS

We analyzed longitudinal cohort data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2018-2021) to examine how cancer diagnoses (prostate, colon, lung, or breast cancer) affect income and wealth. Fixed effects regression controlled for unobserved individual differences, isolating the impact of cancer. We used interaction terms to explore racial and ethnic disparities and applied Heckman models to test the robustness of the results to potential selection bias.

RESULTS

Of the 5409 respondents, 229 (4.23%) reported a diagnosis of one of the targeted cancers. Cancer diagnosis was associated with a 14.44 percentage point reduction in income and a 15.94 percentage point reduction in wealth. Hispanic cancer survivors saw a 42.27 percentage point reduction in income and 36.83 percentage points in wealth, while Black cancer survivors saw reductions of 20.99 percentage points in income and 19.98 percentage points in wealth. These disparities persisted across different model specifications.

CONCLUSION

This study provides robust estimates of the financial impact of cancer, revealing significant and disproportionate financial burdens among Black and Hispanic survivors. These findings underscore the need for integrating financial health assessments into survivorship care to address inequities and improve quality of life.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

Our findings indicate that cancer is associated with significant reductions in income and wealth, with disproportionate burdens observed among Black and Hispanic survivors. These results highlight the need for greater attention to financial well-being in survivorship care, especially for systemically marginalized groups.