Cancer, Vulnerability, and Financial Quality of Life: A Mixed Methods Study

The primary purpose of this study is to examine how vulnerabilities in psychological and social situations affect financial quality of life. For people who are experiencing financial hardship, a cancer diagnosis can be devastating. For others, cancer may cause or even worsen financial stress, for example, with their work, their ability to maintain benefits such as health insurance, their ability to pay bills, and their ability to get the cancer treatment they need. The impact of cancer on financial quality of life is an important area of study within cancer care. Considering the financial burden of cancer also lends greater appreciation for the problems that people face if they cannot handle cancer's costs, or if needed resources are either not present or are too stretched to help with the care they need. For this study, up to 180 cancer patients will be interviewed with a written questionnaire. Of this group, 15 people will also be asked if they would like to participate in a follow-up personal interview with the researcher. The major hypothesis of this study is: The greater the vulnerabilities in predisposing factors and enabling factors, the greater the need factors with respect to cancer diagnosis and treatment, and the lower the perceived ability to adhere to treatment, the poorer will be the financial quality of life.