The biggest financial adjustment is from reduced family income. One parent typically becomes a full-time caregiver, giving up a job.
The other parent would also be involved with part-time care for the child as well as other increased family burdens. Both parents are often present for critical doctor or hospital visits. This all results in less time at work for parents so less family income.
The level of insurance coverage can have a significant financial impact. There will be many hospital and doctor visits. Many cancer patients are treated with a combined strategy. For example, some patients receive chemotherapy combined with surgery. Others receive chemotherapy combined with radiation treatments over a many month period. Some of the new technological advances in radiation treatment can be very expensive and may not be approved by insurance.
In many cases, experimental drug programs can be available to patients, however may not be covered by insurance.
Cancer patients can receive a very large range of pharmaceutical drugs to cope with the side effects from chemotherapy. While these drugs are essential for the quality of life for the patient, they may not be covered by insurance.
Radiation treatments can have many side effects. Cancer patients can be treated for severe burns with many medical creams that may not be covered by insurance.
The doctor visits, hospital visits, clinic visits and pharmacy visits can be a daily task resulting in additional vehicle related expenses.
The environmental factors that could be related to the cancer can cause a family to change their living conditions. It could be as mild as getting new pots and pans without a chemical coating. It could be as drastic as physically moving their home to a new location.
There are often professional psychological treatments that are needed for family members. The primary cancer doctor may recommend a psychologist for the cancer patient and possibly other family members.
Cancer in the family can cause a life style change to natural remedies. For example, families hire a natural food specialist for diet consultation. Many natural foods incur additional costs.
Cancer in the family can cause a life style change in regards to household hygiene. For example, cancer patients can have a low immunity so the family is constantly cleaning and buying products for the house to decrease the amount of bacteria present.
Cancer patients often have special needs for just simple daily living. For example, a cancer patient may have a special mouth wash, special soap, or special toilet paper. For the comfort of patients, they may require special clothes or clothes of a different size all resulting in additional expenses.
