Doctors should discuss financial concerns of cancer patients

Most cancer patients would like to talk about the cost of their care with their doctors, but often don't because they fear the discussion could compromise the quality of their treatment, researchers at Duke Cancer Institute plan to report at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Yet many patients who do broach the subject of finances believe it helps decrease costs. Those findings, from a survey of 300 insured patients treated at Duke and affiliated clinics in rural North Carolina, suggest that doctors can play a role in easing financial worries just by taking the problem into account. Read more here.