Callyn Hogan

Crandall 2

17 December 2019

Synthesis Essay: Revised

Literature Review

Controversially, cancer treatments can be somewhat covered by the help of health

insurance, but never completely if at all. Once a patient has been diagnosed with cancer, they are

given a guide to help budget with categories of doctor appointments, cancer treatment,

medication, and other expenses such as transportation, family expenses, and caregiving. A

popular publisher all about cancer informs the viewers that most of the time insurance demands

copayment for appointments, which is a fee that patients must pay on top of insurance bills

(Cancer.Net)

The stress induced by medical costs alone is called financial toxicity and is a prevalent

issue spreading across America to this day. There have been many articles published in spite of

curing this national issue such as the article “Financial Toxicity: Harmful Side Effects of Cancer

Treatment” (2018). The knowledgeable, author Dr. Barbara K. Rimer argues that cancer

treatments are way too expensive for something one could find so crucial to life (Rimer 1).

Rimer uses techniques to convey her audience of the excruciating prices that cancer treatments

cause, such as diction when she says, “current trajectory”, and using real victims of the cancer

treatment price (Rimer 1-2). She uses points that financial stability is jeopardized by a health

illness one could die from, in fact, she states that the stress from paying the medical bills add to

the long-term cancer effects and may even worsen the symptoms (Rimer 2). Rimer seems to
address many cancer patients and their families by creating such a personal level of knowledge

about the topic (Rimer 2).

Patients and families of patients are extremely susceptible to not only physical health

issues, but faults in mental health as well. Financial toxicity causes stress levels to penetrate

deeper which can lead to depression, anxiety, and other psychological illnesses. In the article,

“The High Cost of Cancer Treatment” (2019), by Peter Moore for AARP The Magazine, he

discusses how the high costs of treatment can add to the patient’s battle against the disease and

could worsen the cancer. Moore uses techniques by using statistics with prices (Moore 1-4) and

stances from medical specialists and an interview with a cancer patient (Moore 2). He uses points

to strengthen his claim that cancer treatments should be lowered for the better mental and

physical health of the affected. Moore is targeting all the population to inform them of the rising

issue and attempt to gain the eyes of potential suitors to fix the issue such as politicians and

medical experts (Moore 1-7).

As one may see stress is a recurring theme shown throughout cancer treatments Elie

Dolgin, an expert on health economics in the future of medicine, wrote the article “Cancer’s Cost

Conundrum” (2018) about how oncology drug prices are excruciatingly high, but here is

improvement in the works. Dolgin uses devices pertaining to ethos by using strategies of

containment, government intervention, and the benefits to convey an audience (Dolgin 2-4). She

uses the points that the costs of oncology drugs are much too high than what people can afford.

The prices can cause severe stress on the patients and cause harmful damage on their bodies, due

to financial toxicity (Dolgin 3). Dolgin is targeting cancer patients and the public in general to

provide discretion that actions are being taken for these unfair prices and changes will be soon to

follow.
 Cancer costs should be extremely lowered to help aid financial toxicity and provide the

right cures anyone would need to live a longer life. It is not fair these patients pay so much for

something so crucial to life. Some cancer patients are paying more than what they could

potentially earn in a year. The government and medicine practices should push towards covering

cancer treatments via insurance or give handouts in order for families to be able to have a

recovery from all the stress and damages caused from cancer.