Breast cancer
Aside from age, most people diagnosed with breast cancer don’t have any known risk factors.
What’s the risk?
In general, the likelihood of a woman developing breast cancer by age 85 years is about 1 in 8. However, certain risk factors such as personal factors, family history and lifestyle can increase the chances of getting cancer. For example, the likelihood of a woman with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation being diagnosed with breast cancer by age 80 years is 69% to 72%.
- The medium hours worked per week in paid employment across the household decreases by about 50% during breast cancer treatment.
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Australian men.
- The occurrence of prostate cancer is the highest among men between the ages of 35 and 69.
What's the risk?
The chance of developing prostate cancer increases with age.
- 1 in 7 men will get prostate cancer by the time they are 75 years old and 1 in 5 by the time they are 85 years old.
A family history of prostate cancer may increase the chance of someone developing prostate cancer. This risk increases if more than one male relative has prostate cancer and/or if a male relative was diagnosed when they were young.
A risk to retirement and pre-retirement income generation
- One in four men stopped working as a result of their prostate cancer diagnosis and out of those who retired, most had done so 4 to 5 years earlier than they had planned as a result of their diagnosis.
Read our article about unexpected cognitive declione post-prostate cancer called Prostate cancer surgery and its disturbing new link to business risk
Cancer
Approximately one in three Australians with cancer perceive the financial burden of prescribed medicines for cancer treatment or recovery to be moderate, heavy or extreme
Although healthcare in Australia is largely publicly funded, there are still significant out-of-pocket (OOP) costs associated with a cancer diagnosis, treatment and survival.
These can include:
- GP and specialist gap payments
- Scans or tests outside of the public system
- Over-the-counter (OTC) medications for pain relief and other purposes
- Complementary medicines or therapies
- Medical devices
- Travel
- Accommodation
- Personal care (e.g. managing ulcers during radiotherapy)
The facts
- The average lifetime cost of cancer for individuals aged 15-64 is $126,280
- People who live outside major cities have 17 times the odds of reporting locational or financial barriers to care compared to those living in metropolitan areas.
Incidence and cost – some highlights
Cancer represents 19% of the disease burden in Australia and is one of the most financially impactful.
One in three Australian men and one in four Australian women will be diagnosed with some type of cancer before they turn 75
- There are 380 new diagnoses of cancer every day in Australia
- Prostate cancer is the most prevalent, followed by breast cancer
- Australia has the second highest prevalence of melanoma in the world
- 5-year survival rates range from 16% for lung cancer to 95% for prostate cancer
- The average lifetime cost for cancer sufferers aged 15 years and older, can range from $20,360 for melanoma to $95,460 for head, neck and thyroid cancers
- The average cost paid by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) per anticancer prescription has increased far in excess of inflation and is currently $786
- Pharmaceutical companies can spend up to $2 billion developing new cancer treatments
- Patients using drugs not supported by the PBS can face bills of up to $5,000 per month or more
- Individuals facing an uncertain future will seek any source of hope, even if the efficacy of the treatments is unclear.
- People who live outside major cities have 17 times the odds of reporting locational or financial barriers to care compared to those living in metropolitan areas
- Around 72% of cancer carers report a negative financial impact of caring and more than half of carers who work full-time need to take leave or reduce working hours