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Cathryn M. Delude, Alleviating the Crisis in Cancer Care, JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Volume 106, Issue 9, September 2014, dju309, https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/dju309
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A 2013 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report warned that U.S. cancer care is in a state of crisis, for reasons that will worsen in coming decades. The population is aging and, since cancer is primarily a disease of aging, so is the population of cancer patients, whose age-associated health conditions complicate treatment. Cancer care is becoming more complex, making it harder for patients to make informed decisions about treatment options, while oncologists often have little incentive or time to discuss an individual’s values and preferences. The cancer workforce is shrinking at all levels—and among potential partners in primary care and geriatrics. Medical costs are ballooning, often bankrupting even those with health insurance, yet costs are not transparent to patients or physicians. In short, we are not prepared for what lies ahead.
“But where there is crisis, there is opportunity if we recognize it,” said Patricia Ganz, M.D., director of cancer prevention and control at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California Los Angeles. A key opportunity to alleviate barriers to quality cancer care, she continued, is to bolster patient-centered care.