Indirect economic effects of long-term breast cancer survival.

Purpose: The indirect morbidity/disability costs of breast cancer may be rising as a consequence of the growth in the population of long-term survivors. This study was conducted to test whether women who have survived breast cancer for at least 5 years experience long-lasting or continuing economic consequences that are attributable to their disease.

Description Of Study: A group of 105 women who initially had been treated for breast cancer approximately 5 years before were interviewed to obtain data on economic, demographic, and health changes in the period since diagnosis.

Functional impairment and the economic consequences of female breast cancer.

Recent trends in breast cancer diagnosis and mortality suggest that long-term survivors are now more likely to be functionally impaired and, hence, more likely to experience adverse economic outcomes. This study tests whether women who have survived breast cancer for at least five years exhibit more, or more severe, functional impairments than otherwise similar women without breast cancer. It also tests whether women with more severe impairments experience poorer economic outcomes attributable to their functional status.