The term “financial toxicity” describes the harmful effects that patients suffer when they cannot afford the costs of health care. While all patients can confront financial toxicity or an inability to pay for care, cancer patients are among most vulnerable to being unable to afford their treatment costs because they accrue some of the nation’s highest treatment costs, according to a 2022 JAMA Oncology article, “Financial Toxicity of Cancer Treatment.” The term also describes the effects high treatment costs have on patients’ quality of life and the inevitable financial stress, the study authors wrote.
