Pediatric Cancers and Family Financial Toxicity in the Philippines: Insights for Southeast Asia and Similarly Resourced Settings

Authors

Rod Carlo Columbres, National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Erin Jay G. Feliciano, Ateneo de Manila University
Kathleen Joy Taleon-Tampo, Eastern Visayas Medical Center
Katelyn Edelwina Y. Legaspi, University of the Philippines College of Medicine
Michelle Ann B. Eala, University of the Philippines College of Medicine
Kenrick Ng, St Bartholomew's Hospital
Fumiko Chino, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Frederic Ivan L. Ting, Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital
Edward Christopher Dee, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2024

Abstract

Cancer is a leading cause of death among children in the Philippines, a low-middle-income country of over 110 million people. In this Comment, we describe how financial toxicity affects families of pediatric patients with cancer in the Philippines. We explore direct costs of care, indirect costs such as transportation and lodging, and psychosocial sequelae, in the Filipino medical system and sociocultural contexts. We present examples of successful interventions in the Philippines and in similarly resourced settings, with the goal of galvanizing further research, clinical interventions, and policy-level changes, aimed at mitigating family financial toxicity for pediatric patients with cancer in the Philippines and globally.

Recommended Citation

Columbres, R. C., Feliciano, E. J. G., Taleon-Tampo, K. J., Legaspi, K. E. Y., Eala, M. a. B., Ng, K., Chino, F., Ting, F. I. L., & Dee, E. C. (2024). Pediatric cancers and family financial toxicity in the Philippines: insights for Southeast Asia and similarly resourced settings. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, 47, 101114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2024.101114