The emotional toll of a mesothelioma cancer diagnosis likely defies description. At the same time, the practical considerations involving treatment don’t offer breaks for those involved.

The financial obligation that comes with mesothelioma treatment doesn’t just affect the patient – it can also be a crushing burden to the patient’s family during an already difficult time.

At the same time the bills are rolling in, both the disease and the treatment may hamper the patient’s ability to earn income by working, compounding the financial strain. Dealing with even the normal expenses of everyday life may become a challenge, on top of the added expense that comes with mesothelioma cancer.

Suffering financial stress in addition to mesothelioma cancer may adversely affect the patient’s already-declining health. It seems cancer and tough financial times sometimes go together.

One study published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in February 2016 took a look at how financial strain related to symptom burden and quality of life in patients with new diagnoses of lung cancer and colorectal cancer. Of those patients, as many as 40 percent reported having “limited” financial reserves, measured as two months’ worth or less.

Compared to patients with more financial reserves, these cash-strapped patients reported significantly increased pain and poorer quality of life. These patients reported deeper degrees of depression, reduced levels of activity, and poorer overall health.

The mounting expenses lead some less well-off patients to cut corners on their own treatment. Some of these patients skip doses of medication to conserve their supplies. Others delay seeking treatment entirely.

The Costs of Mesothelioma Cancer Treatment

Mesothelioma cancer is one of the more aggressive types of cancer from asbestos. It’s a cancer of the pleura, the two-layered membrane that surrounds the organs inside the chest. Asbestos exposure is the only known cause of mesothelioma within the United States.

Mesothelioma cancer typically is not diagnosed until it has reached a very advanced stage, at which point it can’t be removed surgically.

So most often, treatment for mesothelioma focuses on easing symptoms. But even symptom-focused treatment can be involved and expensive.

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can both help kill off cancer cells and reduce signs and symptoms of cancer from asbestos. With some types of mesothelioma cancer, doctors are able to administer chemotherapy directly to the site of the cancer so that the patient doesn’t have to go through systemic chemotherapy.

Many surgical options may provide symptom relief, even if the cancer itself can’t be surgically cured. Doctors can surgically drain fluid if it builds up inside the chest. Removing the pleura, the affected lung, or some of the surrounding tissue may provide some relief. And removing much of the cancerous tissue itself may allow doctors to focus radiation treatment on a smaller area afterward.

With the high costs associated with mesothelioma cancer, it’s understandable why some patients and their families would seek compensation through a mesothelioma lawsuit.

Victims of asbestos exposure can run up astronomical medical bills by the time their treatment is over. Both the disease and its treatment can block a patient’s ability to earn income, putting their dependents at risk for their own financial hard times.