Health Cancer patients are increasingly seeking financial help – the disease can even bring down a family’s finances

Cancer The financial difficulties of people with the disease have increased in recent years, says Cancer Organizations. This is reflected in the significant increase in the number of grant applications submitted to cancer organizations over the last ten years.

The number of grant applications has increased tenfold in ten years. In 2011, Cancer Organizations received a total of 160 applications for financial support from cancer patients. Last year, 1,731 applications were made.

The number of new cancers diagnosed in Finland has not increased in the same proportion. Cancer registry data on diagnosed cancers extend to 2019. At that time, the number of new cancers diagnosed in Finland was slightly less than a fifth higher than in 2011.

The number of cancers diagnosed has thus risen by just under 20 per cent, but applications for aid from people with cancer have increased by almost a thousand per cent.

In Finland, people with cancer and families with a child with cancer can apply for help through social workers in the cancer departments of hospitals.

The Cancer Foundation provides grants to support people who are in a difficult financial situation due to cancer. The Cancer Foundation is part of the Cancer Organizations.

Cancer organizations according to many families, the economic effects of cancer come as a surprise. Grant applications include healthcare customer fees and pharmaceutical and travel expenses. Getting cancer can even topple a family’s finances.

“Even if the daily lives of families would normally run from salary to salary, many will not have any savings in case of unexpected situations. Families may have been tough even before they became ill, and the cancer will collapse, ”the chief Taina Häkkinen The Cancer Counseling Service says.

In addition, the health care payment ceiling adds to the challenges. The payment ceiling is about 680 euros per year. Up to this amount, the patient has to pay for his own treatment. In addition, the deductible for medicines is 580 euros per year, travel expenses 300 euros.

The payment ceilings are tied to the calendar year.

“If a patient falls ill in October, for example, he or she may not have time to accrue the amount required for the contribution ceiling by the turn of the year, and the patient will not receive a free card,” says Häkkinen.

“Because the payment ceiling is tied to a calendar year, the patient will still have to pay the costs themselves in January. If you suffer from low incomes or a small pension anyway, these sums can easily become financial problems. ”

Last year, the Cancer Foundation distributed a total of almost 690,000 euros in financial support to people with cancer. The amount is about 12 times higher than in 2011.