Many cancer patients, family members cite positives in experience

Nov 23 2006

Almost two out of three cancer patients and their families believe that "something good has come out of their experience," according to a recent telephone survey jointly conducted by USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health (Szabo, USA Today, 11/21).

The survey included a nationally representative sample of 930 adults ages 18 and older who said that they or family members in their households were diagnosed with or treated for cancer in the past five years (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 11/20).

About half of respondents said that cancer changed their outlook on life, in most cases positively, the survey found. According to the survey, 69% of respondents ages 18 to 49 said that cancer changed their outlook on life, compared with 36% of those ages 65 and older (USA Today, 11/21).

Full results from the survey, which provides an in-depth examination of how families cope with cancer and highlights problems of health insurance and health care costs through the lens of those who have experienced this major illness, are available online.