Patients skip cancer treatment as financial pressures mount

Marking Blood Cancer Awareness Month, the Leukaemia Foundation has released new research revealing the hidden financial toll of blood cancer, with one in eight Australians living with the disease missing, delaying or cancelling treatment because of cost pressures.

The findings underpin the Foundation’s new ‘Cut the Cost of Cancer’ campaign, which is calling for government action to reduce the financial burden confronting patients and their families as they navigate diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

Every day, 55 Australians are diagnosed with blood cancer. For many, the shock of diagnosis is quickly compounded by how will they afford to get through it.

“Australians facing blood cancer are immediately thrown into a financial storm they never saw coming,” said Leukaemia Foundation CEO Chris Tanti. “They are forced to make impossible financial decisions at a time when their sole focus should be on treatment and recovery. No one should ever have to choose between getting the cancer treatment and care they need to survive and putting food on the table or paying their rent or mortgage – yet our research shows that is exactly what is happening.”

According to the research, Australians with blood cancer face average annual out-of-pocket costs of $3,910, while some families report expenses exceeding $20,000 a year.

The findings come amid heightened political attention to cost-of-living pressures, with the Secret Harbour byelection results demonstrating what can happen when financial strain and dissatisfaction with the major political parties converge at the ballot box.

“We’re increasingly hearing of people draining their savings, accessing superannuation, selling assets like cars, homes and heirlooms, and relying on family and friends to simply survive,” Tanti said. “It’s becoming clear, that blood cancer doesn’t just cost lives – it costs livelihoods.”

For Adelaide man Stephen, that financial strain has become a defining reality of his experience with blood cancer.

His diagnosis ultimately forced him to retire from work, leaving him under significant financial pressure and facing the devastating prospect of missing, delaying or cancelling life-saving treatment because he could not afford it.

“Blood cancer financially devastated us,” Stephen said. “I’ve had to rob Peter to pay Paul. I’m living fortnight to fortnight and dipping into my super just to keep up with rent, food, bills and fuel. I used what holiday and long service leave I had during treatment, and even though I’ve had great support from my family and the Leukaemia Foundation – they can only do so much.”

Stephen’s experience reflects a broader financial burden identified in the research, which found that money worries negatively affect the health and recovery of 44% of Australians with blood cancer.

Crucially, the financial impact does not necessarily end when treatment does.

Ongoing specialist appointments, long-term medications, rehabilitation, chronic side effects and reduced capacity to work can leave patients and their families grappling with the economic consequences of a cancer diagnosis for years.

“We hear from people daily whose financial security has unravelled because of their diagnosis – and for some, that impact can be catastrophic within weeks. Income can disappear almost overnight as patients stop work and loved ones step back from their jobs to provide care – but the bills keep coming,” Tanti added.

The Leukaemia Foundation provides practical support to Australians diagnosed with blood cancer and their families, including accommodation during treatment, transport and bill assistance, as well as emotional and mental health support.

But the organisation says its services cannot address the scale of the financial pressures confronting patients without broader systemic action.

“Through our Cut the Cost of Cancer campaign, we’re calling on all Australians to support petitions urging state and territory governments to take practical action to help reduce the financial burden of cancer,” Tanti explained. “The specific calls vary across jurisdictions but broadly include better travel and accommodation subsidies for regional patients, caps on hospital parking costs, greater support when people must travel interstate for treatment, and more clinical and supportive services closer to where people live.”

For the Leukaemia Foundation, the issue ultimately comes down to equitable access to treatment and care.

A person’s ability to access cancer treatment and care should never come down to their postcode or how much money they have in their bank account.