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The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Experiences with Cancer Survivorship Supplement

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Abstract

Introduction

The prevalence of cancer survivorship in the USA is expected to increase in the future because the US population is increasing in size and is aging and because survival following diagnosis is improving for many types of cancer. Medical care costs associated with cancer are also projected to increase dramatically. However, currently available data for estimating medical care costs and other important aspects of the burden of cancer, including time spent receiving medical care, productivity loss due to morbidity for patients and their families, and financial hardship, are limited, particularly in the population under the age of 65.

Methods

We describe selected publicly available data sources for estimating the burden of cancer in the USA and a new collaborative effort to improve the quality of these data: the nationally representative Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Experiences with Cancer Survivorship Supplement.

Conclusions

Data from this effort can be used to address key gaps in cancer survivorship research related to medical care costs, employment patterns, financial hardship, and other aspects of the burden of illness for cancer survivors and their families.

Implications for cancer survivors

Research using the MEPS Experiences with Cancer Survivorship Supplement can inform efforts by health care policy makers, healthcare systems, providers, and employers to improve the cancer survivorship experience in the USA.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Cathy Bradley, Pamela Farley Short, Patricia Ganz, and Michael Feuerstein for comments on an early version of the MEPS Experiences with Cancer questionnaire; Martha Stapleton and Stephanie Beauvais of Westat for their detailed cognitive testing report describing responses in cancer survivors to the MEPS Experiences with Cancer questionnaire; and Stephanie Nutt and Ruth Rechis of LIVESTRONG, Neetu Chawla of the NCI for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript, and Timothy McNeel of IMS, Inc for programming assistance with the 2009 MEPS. Funding for the MEPS Experiences with Cancer Supplement was provided by the NCI, the CDC, the National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, and the ACS and supported by the AHRQ and Westat.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

    K. Robin Yabroff, Emily Dowling, Gordon Willis, Laura P. Forsythe & Laurel Borowski

  2. Institute for Technology Assessment, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Emily Dowling

  3. Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Juan Rodriguez & Donatus U. Ekwueme

  4. Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Helen Meissner

  5. Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD, USA

    Anita Soni

  6. Health Services Research Program, Intramural Research Department, American Cancer Society National Home Office, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Catherine Lerro & Katherine S. Virgo

  7. Health Services and Economics Branch/Applied Research Program, National Cancer Institute, Executive Plaza North, Room 4005, 6130 Executive Blvd., MSC 7344, Bethesda, MD, 20892-7344, USA

    K. Robin Yabroff

Authors
  1. K. Robin Yabroff
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  2. Emily Dowling
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  3. Juan Rodriguez
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  7. Catherine Lerro
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  8. Gordon Willis
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  9. Laura P. Forsythe
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  11. Katherine S. Virgo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Robin Yabroff.

Additional information

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Cancer Society, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or the US Department of Health and Human Services.

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Yabroff, K.R., Dowling, E., Rodriguez, J. et al. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Experiences with Cancer Survivorship Supplement. J Cancer Surviv 6, 407–419 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-012-0221-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-012-0221-2

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