• Posted October 9, 2025

Financial Toxicity Fatal For Some Cancer Patients

The financial hit from cancer care can prove fatal to some patients battling the dread disease, a new study says.

Patients whose credit rating drops after their cancer diagnosis are more likely to die fighting their malignancy, researchers reported Tuesday at the American College of Surgeons’ annual meeting in Chicago.

“Our work shows that as somebody’s credit score drops, their mortality risk increases,” lead researcher Dr. Benjamin James, chief of general surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said in a news release.

Cancer treatment can affect the ability of patients to earn money to pay both their monthly bills and the cost of their cancer treatment, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Patients who fall behind financially are under more stress, and are more likely to not follow through on necessary treatment, the NCI says. For example, they might not take their medicine as directed so they can save on copays.

For the new study, researchers tracked nearly 42,500 Massachusetts residents diagnosed with cancer between 2010 and 2019, using credit bureau data to see how their treatment affected their finances.

Nearly 9% of the patients developed financial toxicity, defined as a credit score dropping below 600 points within a year and a half of diagnosis, researchers found. An additional 3% of patients already had financial toxicity when they were diagnosed.

Credit scores are generated based on a person’s financial history and generally range from 300 to 850. According to the credit bureau Experian, credit scores lower than 580 are considered “very poor.”

Results show that patients whose credit score fell by two tiers within a year of their diagnosis had a 29% higher risk of death.

Over any six-month period following diagnosis, a one-tier drop in credit rating increased risk of death by 12% and a two-tier drop by 63%, compared to patients whose scores remained stable.

People making less than $30,000 a year had three and a half times higher odds of financial toxicity following a cancer diagnosis, compared to those making $50,000 to $69,000, researchers said.

Other groups at higher risk for financial toxicity following a cancer diagnosis included:

• Younger people (84%)

• Black (71%) or Hispanic (27%) patients

• People separated or divorced (52%)

• Those without a collage diploma (18%)

• People on public insurance like Medicare or Medicaid (35%)

• Those living in an impoverished neighborhood (28%)

“The data we have to date shows a difference in access to care based on socioeconomic status, but access to care is different than showing an adverse clinical outcome as a result,” James said.

“This isn’t just about stress," he added. "It’s literally about people dying unrelated to the cancer itself or made worse by their financial toxicity.”

The National Cancer Institute recommends that patients meet with a financial navigator, who can help them sort through options and potentially find cost-saving ways to get the treatment they need.

Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The National Cancer Institute has more on financial toxicity and cancer treatment.

SOURCE: American College of Surgeons, news release, Oct. 3, 2025