“It was personal ... but this effort was also prompted from looking at the data and research and realizing that there’s a significant societal problem that is affecting people in a serious way,” he says.
The cost of treating cancer may vary greatly depending on a person’s diagnosis and treatment options. Recent case studies by the American Cancer Society estimated the costs for different cancer diagnoses. For example, it estimated the annual costs to treat lung cancer were more than $210,000; breast cancer, more than $144,000; and colorectal cancer, more than $124,000.
Cancer patients reported paying an average of 11 percent of their household income on out-of-pocket health-care expenses in a 2016 Duke University study. But out-of-pocket costs also vary depending on diagnosis and treatment regimen. In each of the society's case studies, insurance covered most of the patient’s cost of care, but each patient also had to pay significant out-of-pocket expenses: $6,850 for lung cancer, $3,975 for breast cancer and $1,368 for colorectal cancer.
Additional research from the Hutchinson Institute For Cancer Outcomes Research linked bankruptcy to mortality among cancer patients. Patients who declared bankruptcy during their treatment were 2.5 times as likely to die as those who avoided bankruptcy.
“I’m fascinated by the possibility that pro-bono financial planning can help families facing cancer and help alleviate financial toxicity,” says Dauphiné. “There’s a whole body of research linking financial distress with bad morbidity and mortality outcomes.”
Dauphine says that the effort will include an academic research component to track both financial and health outcomes that might occur as a result of access to financial planning.
According to the American Cancer Society, the cost of all cancer treatment in the U.S. for 2014 reached $87.8 billion.
As Pro Bono for Cancer unfolds, Dauphiné is already thinking about a potential next phase of the program that might bundle financial counseling, health insurance and prescription insurance assistance with cancer treatment and health-care counseling services, a holistic solution linking financial and physical well-being.
“We’ve received an encouraging response, and there are a lot of interested parties involved, but we’re trying to make sure that we scale up in a way that’s sustainable and thoughtful,” Dauphiné says.
Dauphine says the foundation is also planning efforts to assist victims of this year's destructive hurricane. As the new campaign unfolds, the FFP’s pro-bono work serving members of the U.S. Armed Forces, veterans and their families will continue, as well as its programs benefitting 18 non-profit grantees.