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The right to be forgotten: a change in access to insurance and loans after childhood cancer?

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Abstract

Purpose

Access to insurance for a loan or a mortgage is an important issue for childhood cancer survivors. The aim of this study was to describe difficulties experienced by adult survivors.

Methods

A total of 1920 survivors treated before the age of 18 in five French cancer centers responded to a questionnaire in 2010. Survivors who had tried to obtain a loan were asked if they had experienced difficulties, which were defined as experiencing rejection, higher premiums, or exclusions. The questionnaire investigated health problems related to the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, urinary, endocrine, hormonal, and nervous systems. Second tumors, diabetes mellitus, cardiac disease, and stroke were ascertained from a physician’s report or medical records. Multivariable analyses were conducted to identify the characteristics of survivors reporting difficulties.

Results

Difficulties were experienced by 10.4% of those who had tried to obtain a small loan (n = 787) and by 30.1% of those who had tried to obtain a home loan (n = 909). Disclosure of childhood cancer to the insurer and amputation surgery were negatively associated with insurance accessibility, even when controlling for age, gender, education, health-related unemployment, familial situation, and severe or life-threatening conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, second cancers, or diabetes.

Conclusion

This study showed that the financial burden of cancer can extend decades after diagnosis.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Thanks to a 2016 law, French cancer survivors no longer have to disclose their cancer to insurers after a fixed number of years. This law will probably lessen the socioeconomic burden of cancer.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the patients, the clinicians, and all the research staff who participated in the study, in particular Martine Labbé, Isao Kobayashi, and Angéla Jackson.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health (CESP), Cancer and Radiation team, INSERM U1018, Université Paris-Sud, UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 94807, Villejuif, France

    Agnès Dumas, Rodrigue Allodji, Brice Fresneau, Ibrahima Diallo, Catherine Guibout, Carole Rubino, Nadia Haddy & Florent de Vathaire

  2. Department of Clinical Research, Gustave Roussy, 114 Rue Edouard Vaillant, 94805, Villejuif, France

    Agnès Dumas, Rodrigue Allodji, Brice Fresneau, Ibrahima Diallo, Catherine Guibout, Carole Rubino, Nadia Haddy, Gilles Vassal & Florent de Vathaire

  3. Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Oncology, Gustave Roussy, 94805, Villejuif, France

    Brice Fresneau, Dominique Valteau-Couanet, Chiraz El-Fayech & Odile Oberlin

  4. Department of Paediatric Oncology, Institut Curie, 75005, Paris, France

    Hélène Pacquement

  5. Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre Claudius Regaud, 31059, Toulouse, France

    Anne Laprie

  6. Radiotherapy Department, Centre Jean Godinot, 51100, Reims, France

    Tan Dat Nguyen

  7. Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre Antoine Lacassagne, 06100, Nice, France

    Pierre-Yves Bondiau

Authors
  1. Agnès Dumas
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  2. Rodrigue Allodji
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  3. Brice Fresneau
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  4. Dominique Valteau-Couanet
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  5. Chiraz El-Fayech
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  6. Hélène Pacquement
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  7. Anne Laprie
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  8. Tan Dat Nguyen
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  9. Pierre-Yves Bondiau
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  10. Ibrahima Diallo
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  11. Catherine Guibout
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  12. Carole Rubino
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  13. Nadia Haddy
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  14. Odile Oberlin
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  15. Gilles Vassal
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  16. Florent de Vathaire
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Agnès Dumas.

Ethics declarations

The study received approval from the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) and from the ethics committee of the National Institute of Medical Research and Health (INSERM). The investigators obtained informed consent from each participant.

Funding

The data collection of the cohort study was funded by the French state (Agence Nationale de la recherche (Hope-EPI grant),  Institut National du Cancer, Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire et des Produits de Santé, Institut de Recherche en Santé Publique, Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique), French charities (Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, Fondation ARC), and one foundation (Fondation Pfizer pour la santé de l’enfant et de l’adolescent). The analysis on insurance accessibility was supported by the Fondation Gustave Roussy.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Dumas, A., Allodji, R., Fresneau, B. et al. The right to be forgotten: a change in access to insurance and loans after childhood cancer?. J Cancer Surviv 11, 431–437 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-017-0600-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-017-0600-9

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