According to the most recent estimates, every year in Italy 55,900 people are affected by breast cancer and the average age at diagnosis is progressively lowering. More and more often, therefore, these are women of full working age who have to face long absences from work to follow treatments, manage side effects and in many cases reconcile treatment with family life. Add to this the need to pay out of pocket for the aids necessary to deal with the disease and regional and territorial inequalities and we have the definition of financial toxicity of oncological diseases, a non-physiological but increasingly cumbersome and problematic side effect for those affected by cancer . To learn more about the phenomenon and raise awareness on the topic, Andos (National Association of Breast Surgery Women) and the CREA Sanità Applied Research Center have developed (and begun to disseminate) an anonymous survey dedicated to the collection and analysis of the impact economic and financial consequences of the disease on the lives of patients.
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Financial toxicity
As he reports Degrassi flowers, Andos National President, the financial toxicity of oncological diseases is taking on growing importance, which first of all pushes us to measure the possible inequalities in the various Regions determined by the lack of provision of services, in the face of the complex and differentiated work and family situations that the woman affected by cancer face up. Difficulties that can further undermine a quality of life already compromised by the disease. “The risk of demotion in the workplace following the illness, being forced to resort to part-time work up to and including resignation are recurring eventualities that can lead to serious consequences for the woman affected by breast cancer and for her family members – warns Degrassi – However, there are no certain data, and for this reason we have decided to develop an anonymous questionnaire with CREA Sanità that analyzes the social, personal and contextual effects and problems of women who have undergone breast surgery”.
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La survey
The Association expects to receive thousands of responses to the survey over the next three months. The aim is to propose solutions to reduce the stress linked to the disease and financial toxicity – a topic on which Aiom, the scientific society of medical oncologists, is also working to best protect patients. “Having quantifiable data is an indispensable premise for developing effective intervention strategies for the Association and identifying concrete proposals for institutions and political decision-makers at national and regional level, but also for trade unions and businesses – concludes Degrassi – Because we believe that to guarantee equity and adequate quality of life for women operated on requires a concrete and joint commitment”.
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