Blacks more willing to spend all for cancer care

Blacks and other minorities with cancer are more likely than whites to say they everything they aggressive treatments that can prolong their lives, a study found.Researchers don't know why this is so and not questions, but some think that it may reflect differences in views on miracles, mistrust of doctors among minorities, and a misunderstanding of how ugly and painful end-of-life care can be.Approximately 80% of blacks said they were willing to use all their money to extend their lives, compared with 54% of whites, 72% of Asians and 69% of Hispanics. "It is interesting how far minority patients, particularly black patients, are ready to go to expand their life, "said Ellen McCarthy, a Harvard University researcher who racial disparities in cancer care has studied, but was not involved in the new study.The findings, published online Tuesday by the journal Cancer, were based on telephone surveys of more than 4,100 people newly diagnosed with lung cancer and colon cancer. Approximately 17% of colon cancer patients and 31% of lung cancer patients were in the most advanced stages of their illness.These two forms of cancer were chosen because they are common and deadly when diagnosed in late stages. Patients with cancer of the breast or prostate — the most common types of women and men, respectively — were not included, and it's unknown if their attitude would differ.The cost of caring for cancer has risen in recent years with many treatments priced at $ 100,000 or more sometimes to add only a few months of life.Last days under aggressive treatment may be grim. Patients might have tubes in the nose and in the throat and not be able to eat or speak. They may be in pain or barely coherent. "Some think that life under any circumstances is an absolute good, which suggests a underappreciation of the burdens and overappreciation of the benefits of life-prolonging care, "said Holly Prigerson, another Harvard researcher who heads a Center Dana Farber Cancer Institute that social and psychological influences on cancer care studies.The study asked: would you treatment that extended your life as long as possible, even if it causes you to go broke? Or would you opt for less expensive treatment that does not keep alive as long as you did?Researchers gave no examples of what aggressive care can involve — surgery or chemotherapy, for example — and did not specify how much longer the patient could live.The results revealed racial differences, even when other factors were taken into account.For example, were people with spouses and children to support generally less prepared than some people to their financial sources for their own care. But under this family people, blacks were the most willing to go for broke.The same breed pattern held regardless of how sick patients were, their income and savings, age, time since diagnosis and how long they thought they had left to live. "It was surprising, "said lead author Michelle Martin of the University of Alabama-Birmingham. The study showed Blacks are more likely to have a" try "attitude. That seems to contradict previous studies have indicated that Blacks have a greater distrust of the medical system.But mistrust would still be a factor. Maybe a higher percentage of minorities ensure that doctors take care of them could keep, and thus they might be looking for the most aggressive options available, McCarthy said.Minorities tend to be diagnosed at later stages of cancer than whites. At least one study of patients with advanced cancer found that blacks that intensive end-of-life care wanted less likely to receive it than whites with the same preference.Faith may be another factor. The study did not assess how religious the participants were, but other studies have found that very pious people tend to want and life-prolonging treatment, said Prigerson. "Many religious patients assert, "there is a higher authority than my doctors. God, not my doctors, decision or my time or not. "Such patients believe that it is a demonstration of their faith to keep as long as possible to wait for the granting of a miraculous cure life," she said.

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