Cancer Care Is Getting Better, But Also More Expensive
By Hannah McGillivray, Richard J. Wassersug
An effective but costly clinical approach uses faster technology and targeted pharmaceuticals to combine diagnostics with therapeutics.
This Article From Issue
March-April 2020
Volume 108, Number 2
Page 106
Few medical pronouncements carry as much impact as a diagnosis of cancer. When faced with the sudden need to find out a lot about a complicated topic, most of us now look online. Amid the torrent of information available under the heading of “cancer care,” it’s difficult to discern any general trends in the field. One tendency does stand out, however: Advances in technology are rapidly increasing both the quality and the cost of that care.
QUICK TAKE
- Advances in cancer care are increasingly driven by technology, which provides the tools for more accurate diagnoses as well as more effective treatments—along with soaring costs.
- Extremely high-speed computers to run the scanners, the cost of energy to keep the machines running, and the expensive materials all add to the price.
- Radioactive drugs that can both locate and destroy cancer cells are a promising development in treatment, but they are unlikely to lower patients’ expenses.
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