A study published by JAMA Health Forum reported that out of 22 high-income countries, the US had the highest per capita spending on cancer care. Even with adjusting for smoking, the US cancer mortality (death) rate was the highest. Moreover, there were 9 countries with lower cancer costs and lower mortality rates. In addition, the US spent twice as much on cancer care as the median country. The US spends more money per capita on healthcare than any country, not just for cancer care. Concerning cancer, the US spent $200 billion on cancer care in 2020. Also, up to 62% of cancer survivors go into debt because of the excessive causes of cancer treatments. It is a known fact that US cancer drug costs are higher than other countries.
A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine has shown that the increasing cost of cancer drugs does not correlate with effectiveness, such as overall survival. In analyzing 119 cancer drugs, the median yearly price was a whopping $196,000!
The integration of nutritional and natural therapies and conventional therapies (chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, and others) is considered normative in many countries worldwide. In the United States, oncologists believe their cancer treatments should only be utilized. This is in spite of the fact that nutritional and lifestyle approaches are known to be effective in preventing cancer. Moreover, there are positive published studies on clinical nutrition and other methods (such as intravenous vitamin C) to provide better quality of life and length of life when combined with conventional therapies for people with cancer. For more science-backed information on nutritional and natural therapies for the prevention of and integrative treatment of cancer, see our book Outside The Box Cancer Therapies (Hay House).
Dr. Mark Stengler NMD, MS, is a bestselling author in private practice in Encinitas, California, at the Stengler Center for Integrative Medicine. His newsletter, Dr. Stengler’s Health Breakthroughs, is available at www.markstengler.com and his product line at www.drstengler.com
Chow RD, Bradley EH, Gross CP. Comparison of cancer-related spending and mortality rates in the US vs 21 high-income countries. JAMA Health Forum. 2022;3(5). doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2022.1229 Miljković MD, Tuia JE, Olivier T, Haslam A, Prasad V. Association between US drug price and measures of efficacy for oncology drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration from 2015 to 2020. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2022;182(12):1319. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.4924
