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Methods : This study was part of a nationwide survey of bereaved family members of cancer patients in Japan (J-HOPE2016 study). We asked questions regarding withdrawal or change of cancer treatment (stratified according to whether the treatment was recommended by physicians or based on the patients’ request), experiences of financial difficulties in coping with cancer treatment expenses, and the participants’ socioeconomic background. We conducted descriptive analyses and used logistic regression to examine the factors related to withdrawal or change of cancer treatment. Results : Approximately 7.5% of participants reported withdrawal or change of cancer treatment for financial reasons. The experiences of financial difficulties in coping with cancer treatment expenses such as using up all or a portion of one’s savings (OR=2.14, 95% CI=1.14-4.04, p=0.018 / OR=3.45, 95% CI=1.52-7.81, p=0.003) and subjective financial burden (OR=2.54, 95% CI=1.25-5.14, p=0.010 / OR=3.89, 95% CI=1.68-9.00, p=0.002) were significantly related to withdrawal or change of cancer treatment (recommended by physicians / based on patient request). Conclusion: Fewer participants reported withdrawal or change of cancer treatment than in previous studies, which might reflect the characteristics of the Japanese health-care system. However, there are patients in Japan who withdraw or change cancer treatment for financial reasons. Medical staff should consider financial toxicity as a serious side effect and assist patients in their decision-making regarding treatment while considering their socioeconomic background. Cancer Biology Cancer oncology financial toxicity financial burden palliative care family caregivers Figures Figure 1 Introduction Use of the term “financial toxicity” has spread recently in the field of oncology [ 1 , 2 ]. Financial toxicity is a new concept regarding the side effects of cancer treatment, caused by the effects of high cancer treatment costs. According to this concept, the financial burden on the patient is likely to affect treatment choices and quality of life during treatment [ 3 – 5 ]. A previous study [ 3 ] reported that the financial burden on patients with cancer influences their withdrawal from or change of treatment. Specifically, Zafar and colleagues [ 3 ] reported that approximately 80% of patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy or hormone therapy experienced a financial burden, and hence, 7–9% did not receive the treatment recommended by their physician. According to other studies [ 6 – 9 ], 7–51% of patients experienced a financial burden or financial toxicity. Additionally, 68% of such patients cut back on their leisure activities, 46% reduced spending on basics such as food and clothing, and 46% had to draw on their savings [ 3 ]. However, most previous studies were conducted mainly in the United States. Therefore, a wider scope of research including a variety of medical and social systems might provide a better understanding regarding the factors associated with withdrawal from or change of cancer treatment. Japan’s medical and social system can be considered unique in several ways. All citizens are part of a national long-term health insurance system in which they typically only have to pay 30% of medical costs themselves, and citizens aged ≥75 years only have to pay 10%. In addition, a unique “ceiling amount” system covers high-cost medical expenses. Although some age and income restrictions apply, the ceiling amount for out-of-pocket expenses ranges between 10,000 and 250,000 JPY per month (approximately 100–2,500 USD). This is the maximum amount that a patient has to pay, as the excess amount is covered by public subsidies. Under this system, approximately 80% of the population falls under the monthly medical cost bracket of between 57,600 and 80,100 JPY. In this study, we hypothesized that these systems reduce the out-of-pocket costs for patients with cancer in Japan so that only a small number of patients withdraw from or change treatment because of a financial burden. However, to our knowledge, no reports have been conducted in Japan to investigate this issue [ 10 – 12 ]. In addition, previous studies have examined only a certain period of cancer treatment, and not the entire period, including end-of-life. By investigating the entire period, including end-of-life, it might be possible to gain a more accurate understanding of the financial toxicity and burden that the patient experiences due to cancer treatment. However, it is difficult to ask the patient about end-of-life, so family members are typically the proxy for the patient. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the characteristics and impact of financial burden of cancer treatment from diagnosis to end-of-life, and its effect on withdrawal from or change of cancer treatment in Japan. Methods This study was part of a nationwide survey of bereaved family members of patients with cancer in Japan (the Japan HOspice and Palliative care Evaluation study 2016: J-HOPE study 2016). The J-HOPE 2016 study was a cross-sectional, anonymous, self-reporting questionnaire survey conducted between May and July 2016. We sent letters to 169 palliative care units that were members of Hospice Palliative Care Japan before September 1, 2015. Of these institutions, 71 participated in the study. To identify potential study subjects, we asked each institution to identify and list up to 80 bereaved family members of patients who had died prior to January 31, 2016. This study included a subpopulation of the main study. The inclusion criteria included: 1) the patient died of cancer; 2) the patient was aged ≥20 years (the age at which one is considered an adult in Japan); and 3) the bereaved family member was aged ≥20 years. The exclusion criteria were as follows: 1) the patient received palliative care for less than 3 days; 2) the bereaved family member was unavailable or could not be identified; 3) treatment-associated death or death in an intensive care unit; 4) study participation would cause the participant serious psychological distress, as determined by the primary physician and a nurse; and 5) the potential participant was incapable of completing the self-reported questionnaire because of health issues such as cognitive impairment or visual disability. Questionnaires were sent to the bereaved family members identified by each participating institution. A document explaining the aims and procedures of the J-HOPE2016 study was sent along with the questionnaire, and return of a completed questionnaire was considered to indicate consent to participate in the study. A ballpoint pen was included in the envelope as an incentive to participate. Participants were asked to return the completed questionnaire to the secretariat office (Tohoku University) within 1 month. We sent a reminder to non-responders 1 month after sending the questionnaire. If they did not wish to participate in the study, they were asked to check a “no participation” box and return the incomplete questionnaire. Ethical approval for the study was granted by the institutional review boards of Tohoku University (No. 2016-1-015) and all participating institutions. Measurements Withdrawal from or change of cancer treatment We asked the following two questions regarding withdrawal from or a change of cancer treatment: “whether patients had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment recommended by their physician”, and “whether patients had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment that they wanted to receive”. We asked the participants to answer these questions on a five-point scale (never / not very often / some of the time / most of the time / not sure). If a withdrawal or change was noted, we also asked about the kind of treatment that was withdrawn or changed. Experiences of financial difficulties in coping with the expenses of cancer treatment We asked the participants whether they had ever had to do any of the following: 1) reduce spending on food, 2) reduce spending on clothing, 3) borrow money from relatives (e.g., parents, children, siblings), 4) move to a house where the rent was cheaper, 5) work more hours to increase income (e.g., overtime, side jobs), 6) reduce spending on leisure activities, such as vacations, 7) have disputes about money with family members, 8) sell possessions or property, 9) use all or a portion of their savings, 10) worry about their family’s living and school expenses, and 11) refrain from going to the hospital or purchasing prescription drugs. This list of items was created by the researchers based on a review of previous studies [ 3 , 4 ]. In addition, we inquired about the participants’ sociodemographic data, including the deceased patient’s gender, age, and primary cancer site, duration of care received, period from cancer diagnosis to death, duration after bereavement, cost of care, employment status, and perceived social support, as factors that could potentially be associated with withdrawal from or change of cancer treatment. Statistical analysis We first conducted descriptive analyses of the patients’ socioeconomic background, whether they had withdrawn from or changed their cancer treatment, and their experience during treatment. Since the distribution of answers was biased, we dichotomized the answers among the following questions for analysis. First, “whether the patient had financial concerns” was dichotomized as no/mild worries and moderate/severe worries. Second, “whether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment” was dichotomized as never and not very often/some of the time/most of the time. Bivariate analysis (logistic regression) was used to assess the correlation between the patients’ socioeconomic backgrounds and whether they had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant, and all tests were two-tailed. All statistical analyses were performed using SAS software (Japanese ver. 9.4; Cary, NC; BMDP, Los Angeles, CA). Results A total of 510 (60%) questionnaires were returned. The characteristics of the participants and bereaved family members are described in Table 1 , and the results regarding whether patients had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment are described in Table 2 . Not all the questions were responded to by all the participants. Consequently, the response rates of each question were different. For treatment that had been recommended by the physician, 1% (n = 5) reported that they had withdrawn/changed treatment most of the time, 4% (n = 20) said some of the time, 4% (n = 20) said not very often, and 85% (n = 412) said never. For treatment that the patients wanted to receive, 1% (n = 4) reported that they had withdrawn/changed treatment most of the time, 3% (n = 12) said some of the time, 2% (n = 11) stated not very often, and 86% (n = 401) said never. The patients’ experiences in relation to paying for treatment are described in Fig. 1. The highest percentage of patients used all or a portion of their savings (35%, n = 166) on treatment, 30% (n = 144) reported reduced spending on clothing, and 24% (n = 114) reported reduced spending on leisure activities such as vacations. Table 1 Deceased cancer patients’ and participating family members’ characteristics Patients N % Gender Male 302 59 Female 208 41 Age 75 y 284 56 Primary tumor site Lung 112 22 Stomach 77 15 Colon 63 12 Liver, bile duct, pancreas 109 21 Other 149 29 Duration of care received 2 months 91 18 Period from cancer diagnosis to death 3 y 133 27 Duration since death 12 months 90 18 Cost of care 2 million JPY 117 25 Employment status None 353 72 Full-time 85 17 Part-time 51 10 Whether the patient had financial concerns Yes 79 16 No 409 84 Whether the patient had private cancer insurance Yes 162 33 No 327 67 Whether the patient had used the high-cost medical care benefit system Yes 332 67 No 110 22 Not sure 50 10 Whether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment Yes 120 26 No 333 74 Whether the patient or family had consulted with medical staff about financial issues Yes 65 13 No 418 87 Bereaved family members N % Gender Male 141 28 Female 366 72 Age 75 y 84 17 Relationship Partner 218 43 Child 186 37 Child-in-law 29 6 Parent 14 3 Brother or sister 35 7 Other 23 5 Educational background Elementary and junior high school 66 13 High school 222 45 Junior college or vocational school 113 23 University 85 17 Graduate school 6 1 Other 5 1 Not all the questions were responded to by all the participants and do not add up to 510. Consequently, the response rates of each question were different. Table 2 Results regarding whether patients had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment N % Whether the patient had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment recommended by their doctor for financial reasons N = 484 Never 412 85 Not very often 20 4 Some of the time 20 4 Most of the time 5 1 Not sure 27 6 Type of treatment N = 45 Surgery 7 16 Chemotherapy (intravenous) 18 40 Chemotherapy (oral) 12 27 Oral medicine (other than anticancer medicine) 9 20 Radiation therapy (other than proton beam therapy, heavy ion therapy) 5 11 Molecular-targeted drugs (insured) 2 4 Proton beam therapy, heavy ion therapy 1 2 Unproven cancer treatments (e.g., vitamins, homeopathy, unproven immunotherapy) 3 7 Other 2 4 Whether the patient had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment they had wanted to receive for financial reasons N = 467 Never 401 86 Not very often 11 2 Some of the time 12 3 Most of the time 4 1 Not sure 39 8 Type of treatment N = 27 Surgery 2 7 Chemotherapy (intravenous) 3 11 Chemotherapy (oral) 1 4 Oral medicine (other than anticancer medicine) 1 4 Radiation therapy (other than proton beam therapy, heavy ion therapy) 3 11 Molecular-targeted drugs (insured) 1 4 Proton beam therapy, heavy ion therapy 7 26 Unproven cancer treatments (e.g., vitamins, homeopathy, unproven immunotherapy) 10 37 Other 1 4 The results of logistic regression analysis comparing subjects who reported never and most of the time/some of the time/not very often in response to the question regarding whether patients had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment are described in Tables 3 and 4 . Among all socioeconomic background variables described in Table 1 , the items of “whether the patient had financial concerns” (odds ratio [OR] = 2.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.25–5.14, p = 0.010), “whether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment” (OR = 2.80, 95% CI = 1.47–5.36, p = 0.002), and “whether the patient or family had consulted with medical staff about financial issues” (OR = 2.52, 95% CI = 1.22–5.18, p = 0.012) had a significant correlation with “whether patients had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment recommended by their physician”. “Cost of care” (OR = 3.62, 95% CI = 1.32–9.95, p = 0.030), “whether the patient had financial concerns” (OR = 3.89, 95% CI = 1.68–9.00, p = 0.002), “whether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment” (OR = 6.54, 95% CI = 2.76–15.50, p < .0001), and “whether the patient or family had consulted with medical staff about financial issues” (OR = 3.51, 95% CI = 1.50–8.24, p = 0.004) were significantly related to “whether patients had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment they wanted to receive”. Regarding patients’ experiences in paying for treatment, there were significant correlations between all 11 questions and “whether patients had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment recommended by their physician”. Table 3 Correlation between patient characteristics and whether patients had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment Treatment recommended by physician Treatment patients wanted to receive OR 95% CI p OR 95% CI p Low High Low High Gender (vs. Male) Female 0.80 0.42 1.52 0.50 0.70 0.31 1.60 0.40 Age (vs. 75 y 0.73 0.31 1.71 0.85 0.46 0.15 1.42 0.073 Primary tumor site (vs. Lung) Stomach, colon 0.49 0.19 1.26 0.16 0.09 0.01 0.71 0.019 Liver, bile duct, pancreas 0.54 0.20 1.46 0.33 1.03 0.36 2.89 0.077 Other 1.17 0.53 2.59 0.062 0.83 0.30 2.28 0.21 Duration of care received (vs. 2 months 1.70 0.68 4.29 0.34 0.87 0.25 3.01 0.99 Cost of care (vs. 2 million JPY 1.78 0.80 4.00 0.43 3.62 1.32 9.95 0.030 Employment status (vs. None) Full-time 0.83 0.33 2.07 0.32 0.67 0.19 2.32 0.23 Part-time 1.79 0.74 4.35 0.15 2.08 0.73 5.89 0.10 Whether the patient had financial concerns Yes (vs. No) 2.54 1.25 5.14 0.010 3.89 1.68 9.00 0.002 Whether the patient had private cancer insurance Yes (vs. No) 0.93 0.49 1.76 0.82 0.94 0.41 2.17 0.89 Whether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment Yes (vs. No) 2.80 1.47 5.36 0.002 6.54 2.76 15.50 < .001 Whether the patient or family had consulted with medical staff about financial issues Yes (vs. No) 2.52 1.22 5.18 0.012 3.51 1.50 8.24 0.004 OR: odds ratio, CI: confidence interval. Table 4 Correlation between whether patients had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment and changes in daily life Treatment recommended by doctor Treatment patients wanted to receive OR 95% CI p OR 95% CI p Low High Low High Used all or a portion of savings Yes (vs. No) 2.14 1.14 4.04 0.018 3.45 1.52 7.81 0.003 Reduced spending on clothing Yes (vs. No) 2.42 1.29 4.56 0.006 3.42 1.55 7.54 0.002 Reduced spending on leisure activities such as vacations Yes (vs. No) 3.89 2.03 7.47 < .001 2.03 0.87 4.71 0.10 Reduced spending on food Yes (vs. No) 2.51 1.29 4.89 0.007 3.82 1.70 8.61 0.001 Worried about family’s living and school expenses Yes (vs. No) 3.02 1.57 5.81 < .001 3.24 1.43 7.35 0.005 Borrowed money from relatives (e.g., parents, children, siblings) Yes (vs. No) 3.21 1.54 6.71 0.002 1.99 0.72 5.56 0.19 Had disputes about money with family members Yes (vs. No) 3.33 1.59 6.97 0.001 3.34 1.32 8.46 0.011 Refrained from going to the hospital or purchasing prescription drugs Yes (vs. No) 5.54 2.22 13.86 < .001 6.02 2.00 18.13 0.001 Worked more hours to increase income (e.g., overtime, side jobs) Yes (vs. No) 4.13 1.62 10.54 0.003 1.72 0.38 7.86 0.48 Moved to a house where the rent was cheaper Yes (vs. No) 4.59 1.66 12.66 0.003 2.25 0.48 10.45 0.30 Sold possessions or property Yes (vs. No) 3.62 1.24 10.59 0.019 2.24 0.48 10.42 0.30 OR: odds ratio, CI: confidence interval. Discussion The results of this study revealed that only a few (approximately 6–9%) patients with cancer in Japan withdrew from or changed the cancer treatment that was recommended by their physicians or that they opted to receive for financial reasons. However, in patients with financial difficulties or concerns due to cancer treatment, there was a significant correlation between their concerns and withdrawing from or changing treatment. Furthermore, it became clear that the patients’ subjective indices might have a stronger influence on withdrawing from or changing treatment than their objective financial situation. The strength of our results is the fact that they reflect the entire experience from cancer diagnosis to end-of-life, and not only a particular phase of cancer treatment. In this study, approximately 6–9% of patients with cancer withdrew or changed their cancer treatment to some degree for financial reasons during their entire treatment period. This result may reflect the strength of the Japanese health insurance system. A previous study [ 3 ] from the United States reported that 7–9% of patients had altered the care recommended by their physician, such as not having a test and/or procedure or missing a clinical or chemotherapy appointment. Considering that our results also included respondents who answered, “some of the time” and “not very often”, relatively fewer participants in this study withdrew from or changed cancer treatment compared with that study. However, it should be noted that the previous study was based on patient-reported outcomes, whereas the present study was based on responses from bereaved family members. In addition, the previous study was conducted in the United States, where the out-of-pocket costs for patients are substantial and not all patients with cancer are insured [ 13 ]. In addition, few studies have investigated the financial burden of end-of-life care [ 14 , 15 ], whereas a systematic review reported greater financial toxicity among patients with early-stage disease and/or more severe cancers [ 16 ]. The present study did not ask about the specific period of cancer treatment, but rather the entire period. Our results suggest that not all patients’ financial burdens are well managed under the Japanese health-care system. In our study, the treatments that patients had wanted to receive before withdrawing or changing treatment for financial reasons included unproven cancer treatments, such as vitamins, homeopathy, and unproven immunotherapy (n = 10, 37%), and advanced medical treatments, such as proton beam therapy and heavy ion therapy (26%), neither or which are covered by insurance in Japan at the time the present survey was conducted. On the other hand, the percentage of patients who had difficulty continuing treatment that is covered by insurance was small. Again, it is difficult to compare the results as there are few reports of treatment withdrawal or change in other countries; however, the results of our study reflect the characteristics of the Japanese health-care system. Although unproven treatments and some advanced medical treatments are not covered by insurance in Japan, patients can receive standard treatment under the universal health-care system. Previous studies from Japan reported that almost half of cancer patients used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) regardless of whether they were of proven efficacy and safety [ 17 , 18 ]. Hyodo et al. indicated that oncologists must keep CAM in mind due to the high prevalence of usage by cancer patients [ 17 ]. On the other hand, Suzuki and colleagues reported that these uninsured treatments are often expensive, and approximately 30% of patients and families considered them a financial burden [ 18 ]. Although patients’ wishes should be respected as much as possible in regard to uninsured treatments, it is important to ensure that patients receive the standard treatments recommended by their physician, and that they do not have to withdraw from or change treatment because of a financial burden. Moreover, in this study, there were significant correlations between the patients’ experiences regarding financial difficulties and their having to withdraw/change treatment. In addition, our results indicated that patients with financial difficulties were more likely to withdraw or change their treatment when the treatment had been suggested by their physician rather than being chosen by them. Therefore, medical staff should consider the financial difficulties of patients in relation to treatment, i.e., financial toxicity, as a serious side effect and assist patients in their decision-making by taking their socioeconomic background into consideration [ 19 ]. It might also be advisable to refer patients to specialists, such as medical social workers, so that they can receive and continue the treatment they need. Finally, the study results suggested that subjective items used to evaluate the financial status of the patients, such as “whether the patient had financial concerns”, “whether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment”, and “whether the patient or family had consulted with medical staff about financial issues”, were significantly related to withdrawing from or changing cancer treatment, whereas objective items, such as the duration of care received and annual income, were not. This indicates that the reason a patient decides to withdraw from or change cancer treatment might often be difficult for the medical staff to notice. Hence, medical staff might need to talk to patients to understand their subjective financial situation and introduce available support systems. In addition, previous studies have indicated that there are often barriers in terms of employment of cancer survivors. In Japan, the out-of-pocket costs for patients are lower because of the medical system, so it seems that withdrawing from or changing cancer treatment occurs less frequently than in other countries. A systematic review of the financial toxicity associated with a variety of cancer diagnoses in countries with publicly funded health care reported out-of-pocket costs of 273 USD per month, even in countries with the most inexpensive health care [ 16 ]. As mentioned previously, Japan has a unique system that includes a “ceiling amount” for high-cost medical expenses, which limits monthly out-of-pocket costs to approximately 100–2,500 USD. Although no reports from Japan were included in the previous review, Japan could be considered one of the countries with the lowest out-of-pocket cancer costs. However, a small number of patients still had to withdraw from or change the treatment recommended by their physician because of a financial burden. Therefore, it might be necessary to improve health-care policies in Japan so that fewer patients with cancer experience financial burdens/toxicity when undergoing treatment. Limitations This study had several limitations. First, the participants were limited to those who had lost their loved ones in palliative care units in Japan. Second, there was a potential bias due to missing data from non-responders (response rate: 60%). Third, we could not discuss causality because of the cross-sectional study design. Fourth, the financial background of the patients, such as employment status, might have changed depending on their duration of care and disease condition. Conclusions In this study, 6–9% of the patients with cancer withdrew from or changed their cancer treatment by their end-of-life for financial reasons. These results suggest the importance of considering financial aspects during treatment-related decision-making. Declarations Funding This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant No. JP 18K17480). Conflict of interest This study was supported by Hospice Palliative Care Japan. The authors declare no conflicts of interests. Data availability The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author (M.A.) upon reasonable request. Code availability Not applicable. Author’s contributions The study was conceived by Taichi Sasaki and Maho Aoyama. The study was designed by Maho Aoyama and Mitsunori Miyashita. Data were collected by Naoko Igarashi. Data were analyzed by Taichi Sasaki and Maho Aoyama. All authors contributed to the data interpretation. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Taichi Sasaki and Maho Aoyama. All authors contributed to the revision of the manuscript and reviewed the final version for submission. Ethics approval Ethical approval for the study was granted by the institutional review boards of Tohoku University Hospital and all participating institutions (Approval No. 2016–1-015). Consent to participate A document explaining the aims and procedures of the study was sent along with the questionnaire, stating that return of a completed questionnaire would be considered to indicate consent to participate in the study. Consent for publication A document was sent along with the questionnaire, stating that return of a completed questionnaire would be considered to indicate full consent for publication. Acknowledgments We wish to thank all the participants and institutions that participated in the study. English language editing and grammar check was supported by FORTE Science Communications (https://www.fortescience.com/). References Zafar SY, Abernethy AP (2013) Financial toxicity, Part II: how can we help with the burden of treatment-related costs? Oncology (Williston Park) 27:253-254, 256 Zafar SY, Abernethy AP (2013) Financial toxicity, Part I: a new name for a growing problem. Oncology (Williston Park) 27:80-81, 149 Zafar SY, Peppercorn JM, Schrag D, Taylor DH, Goetzinger AM, Zhong X et al (2013) The financial toxicity of cancer treatment: a pilot study assessing out-of-pocket expenses and the insured cancer patient's experience. 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Support Care Cancer 28:4645-4665. doi: 10.1007/s00520-020-05620-9 Hyodo I, Amano N, Eguchi K, Narabayashi M, Imanishi J, Hirai M et al (2005) Nationwide survey on complementary and alternative medicine in cancer patients in Japan. J Clin Oncol 23:2645-2654. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2005.04.126 Suzuki K, Morita T, Tanaka K, Tei Y, Azuma Y, Igarashi N et al (2017) Nationwide survey on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer patients who died at palliative care units in Japan: Prevalance of CAM and family experience. Pallitaive Care Researsh 12:731-737. doi: https://doi.org/10.2512/jspm.12.731 Alexander GC, Casalino LP, Meltzer DO (2003) Patient-physician communication about out-of-pocket costs. JAMA 290:953-958. doi: 10.1001/jama.290.7.953 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 01 Mar, 2022 Read the published version in Supportive Care in Cancer → Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 01 Nov, 2021 Reviewers invited by journal 28 Oct, 2021 Editor assigned by journal 15 Sep, 2021 First submitted to journal 13 Sep, 2021 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-906189","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":57104007,"identity":"0012a201-2f2e-494f-b9d2-2fd3c28ffbbf","order_by":0,"name":"Taichi Sasaki","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tohoku University School of Medicine: Tohoku Daigaku Daigakuin Igakukei Kenkyuka Igakubu","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Taichi","middleName":"","lastName":"Sasaki","suffix":""},{"id":57104008,"identity":"55b5ab7d-b8bc-4216-9248-9dbcb1148381","order_by":1,"name":"Maho Aoyama","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABC0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHghlwN4AYRswsEFEGBvwaDkAUslzAMQ2IEWLRAKaFlxAt/3swccfGA5Hm0u+TnzwhuGPnDl7W5oEQ40dA/Ns7NaYnclLNjjAcDh35+zczYZzGAyMLXuOHZNgOJbMwDjnAHYtB3LMJA7+u5274XbuNmmgwxI33Ehvk2BgO8DAOCMBu5bzb8wkDjAAtdw8u/03Qss/PFpu5EC13ODdxgzRknZMgrENn5Y3xgZnGP7nbjiTu1lyjoExkHcs2SKxL5kHp1/O5xg+qGBIy91w/OzGD28q5OQMjrcZ3vjwzU7OEEeIoQEDKA10Eo/hDGJ0oAB5CZK1jIJRMApGwfAEAENQZHPa3Bk4AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Tohoku University School of Medicine: Tohoku Daigaku Daigakuin Igakukei Kenkyuka Igakubu","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Maho","middleName":"","lastName":"Aoyama","suffix":""},{"id":57104009,"identity":"7f4a346a-6897-45c1-a596-199f025c1c91","order_by":2,"name":"Naoko Igarashi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shinshu University Graduate School of Medicine School of Medicine: Shinshu Daigaku Daigakuin Igakukei Kenkyuka Igakubu","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Naoko","middleName":"","lastName":"Igarashi","suffix":""},{"id":57104010,"identity":"e638f517-552c-4fdc-8973-078a62e7283a","order_by":3,"name":"Tatsuya Morita","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Seirei Mikatahara Hospital: Seirei Mikatahara Byoin","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tatsuya","middleName":"","lastName":"Morita","suffix":""},{"id":57104011,"identity":"552d72c3-8a0b-4767-b597-a13398b009a8","order_by":4,"name":"Yasuo Shima","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tsukuba Medical Center","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yasuo","middleName":"","lastName":"Shima","suffix":""},{"id":57104012,"identity":"e2b8c5ec-4eee-4a23-86ab-1ecd12bae4bd","order_by":5,"name":"Mitsunori Miyashita","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tohoku University School of Medicine: Tohoku Daigaku Daigakuin Igakukei Kenkyuka Igakubu","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mitsunori","middleName":"","lastName":"Miyashita","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2021-09-14 21:03:24","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-906189/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-906189/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-06933-7","type":"published","date":"2022-03-01T07:52:07+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":14676180,"identity":"d0ddfe37-1328-4f42-87d3-d69aa9b4e744","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-10-19 15:24:28","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":989233,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"See image above for figure legend.","description":"","filename":"Fig1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-906189/v1/ec8f247a6259d265e5d0c1da.jpg"},{"id":18721645,"identity":"ab3963ec-03d7-4bf2-b30f-fa45d80810d9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-03-01 07:52:14","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":769600,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-906189/v1/44641687-a5bf-4ca4-8d8a-5073e67326ff.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eInfluence of Financial Burden on Withdrawal or Change of Cancer Treatment in Japan: Results of a Bereavement Survey\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eUse of the term \u0026ldquo;financial toxicity\u0026rdquo; has spread recently in the field of oncology [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. Financial toxicity is a new concept regarding the side effects of cancer treatment, caused by the effects of high cancer treatment costs. According to this concept, the financial burden on the patient is likely to affect treatment choices and quality of life during treatment [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR4\" citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA previous study [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e] reported that the financial burden on patients with cancer influences their withdrawal from or change of treatment. Specifically, Zafar and colleagues [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e] reported that approximately 80% of patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy or hormone therapy experienced a financial burden, and hence, 7\u0026ndash;9% did not receive the treatment recommended by their physician. According to other studies [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR7 CR8\" citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e], 7\u0026ndash;51% of patients experienced a financial burden or financial toxicity. Additionally, 68% of such patients cut back on their leisure activities, 46% reduced spending on basics such as food and clothing, and 46% had to draw on their savings [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. However, most previous studies were conducted mainly in the United States. Therefore, a wider scope of research including a variety of medical and social systems might provide a better understanding regarding the factors associated with withdrawal from or change of cancer treatment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJapan\u0026rsquo;s medical and social system can be considered unique in several ways. All citizens are part of a national long-term health insurance system in which they typically only have to pay 30% of medical costs themselves, and citizens aged \u0026ge;75 years only have to pay 10%. In addition, a unique \u0026ldquo;ceiling amount\u0026rdquo; system covers high-cost medical expenses. Although some age and income restrictions apply, the ceiling amount for out-of-pocket expenses ranges between 10,000 and 250,000 JPY per month (approximately 100\u0026ndash;2,500 USD). This is the maximum amount that a patient has to pay, as the excess amount is covered by public subsidies. Under this system, approximately 80% of the population falls under the monthly medical cost bracket of between 57,600 and 80,100 JPY. In this study, we hypothesized that these systems reduce the out-of-pocket costs for patients with cancer in Japan so that only a small number of patients withdraw from or change treatment because of a financial burden. However, to our knowledge, no reports have been conducted in Japan to investigate this issue [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR11\" citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition, previous studies have examined only a certain period of cancer treatment, and not the entire period, including end-of-life. By investigating the entire period, including end-of-life, it might be possible to gain a more accurate understanding of the financial toxicity and burden that the patient experiences due to cancer treatment. However, it is difficult to ask the patient about end-of-life, so family members are typically the proxy for the patient.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTherefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the characteristics and impact of financial burden of cancer treatment from diagnosis to end-of-life, and its effect on withdrawal from or change of cancer treatment in Japan.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study was part of a nationwide survey of bereaved family members of patients with cancer in Japan (the Japan HOspice and Palliative care Evaluation study 2016: J-HOPE study 2016). The J-HOPE 2016 study was a cross-sectional, anonymous, self-reporting questionnaire survey conducted between May and July 2016. We sent letters to 169 palliative care units that were members of Hospice Palliative Care Japan before September 1, 2015. Of these institutions, 71 participated in the study. To identify potential study subjects, we asked each institution to identify and list up to 80 bereaved family members of patients who had died prior to January 31, 2016. This study included a subpopulation of the main study. The inclusion criteria included: 1) the patient died of cancer; 2) the patient was aged \u0026ge;20 years (the age at which one is considered an adult in Japan); and 3) the bereaved family member was aged \u0026ge;20 years. The exclusion criteria were as follows: 1) the patient received palliative care for less than 3 days; 2) the bereaved family member was unavailable or could not be identified; 3) treatment-associated death or death in an intensive care unit; 4) study participation would cause the participant serious psychological distress, as determined by the primary physician and a nurse; and 5) the potential participant was incapable of completing the self-reported questionnaire because of health issues such as cognitive impairment or visual disability. Questionnaires were sent to the bereaved family members identified by each participating institution. A document explaining the aims and procedures of the J-HOPE2016 study was sent along with the questionnaire, and return of a completed questionnaire was considered to indicate consent to participate in the study. A ballpoint pen was included in the envelope as an incentive to participate. Participants were asked to return the completed questionnaire to the secretariat office (Tohoku University) within 1 month. We sent a reminder to non-responders 1 month after sending the questionnaire. If they did not wish to participate in the study, they were asked to check a \u0026ldquo;no participation\u0026rdquo; box and return the incomplete questionnaire. Ethical approval for the study was granted by the institutional review boards of Tohoku University (No. 2016-1-015) and all participating institutions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMeasurements\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eWithdrawal from or change of cancer treatment\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe asked the following two questions regarding withdrawal from or a change of cancer treatment: \u0026ldquo;whether patients had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment recommended by their physician\u0026rdquo;, and \u0026ldquo;whether patients had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment that they wanted to receive\u0026rdquo;. We asked the participants to answer these questions on a five-point scale (never / not very often / some of the time / most of the time / not sure). If a withdrawal or change was noted, we also asked about the kind of treatment that was withdrawn or changed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eExperiences of financial difficulties in coping with the expenses of cancer treatment\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe asked the participants whether they had ever had to do any of the following: 1) reduce spending on food, 2) reduce spending on clothing, 3) borrow money from relatives (e.g., parents, children, siblings), 4) move to a house where the rent was cheaper, 5) work more hours to increase income (e.g., overtime, side jobs), 6) reduce spending on leisure activities, such as vacations, 7) have disputes about money with family members, 8) sell possessions or property, 9) use all or a portion of their savings, 10) worry about their family\u0026rsquo;s living and school expenses, and 11) refrain from going to the hospital or purchasing prescription drugs. This list of items was created by the researchers based on a review of previous studies [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition, we inquired about the participants\u0026rsquo; sociodemographic data, including the deceased patient\u0026rsquo;s gender, age, and primary cancer site, duration of care received, period from cancer diagnosis to death, duration after bereavement, cost of care, employment status, and perceived social support, as factors that could potentially be associated with withdrawal from or change of cancer treatment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe first conducted descriptive analyses of the patients\u0026rsquo; socioeconomic background, whether they had withdrawn from or changed their cancer treatment, and their experience during treatment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSince the distribution of answers was biased, we dichotomized the answers among the following questions for analysis. First, \u0026ldquo;whether the patient had financial concerns\u0026rdquo; was dichotomized as no/mild worries and moderate/severe worries. Second, \u0026ldquo;whether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment\u0026rdquo; was dichotomized as never and not very often/some of the time/most of the time.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBivariate analysis (logistic regression) was used to assess the correlation between the patients\u0026rsquo; socioeconomic backgrounds and whether they had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA p value\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05 was considered statistically significant, and all tests were two-tailed. All statistical analyses were performed using SAS software (Japanese ver. 9.4; Cary, NC; BMDP, Los Angeles, CA).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eA total of 510 (60%) questionnaires were returned. The characteristics of the participants and bereaved family members are described in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, and the results regarding whether patients had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment are described in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. Not all the questions were responded to by all the participants. Consequently, the response rates of each question were different. For treatment that had been recommended by the physician, 1% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;5) reported that they had withdrawn/changed treatment most of the time, 4% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;20) said some of the time, 4% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;20) said not very often, and 85% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;412) said never. For treatment that the patients wanted to receive, 1% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;4) reported that they had withdrawn/changed treatment most of the time, 3% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;12) said some of the time, 2% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;11) stated not very often, and 86% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;401) said never. The patients\u0026rsquo; experiences in relation to paying for treatment are described in Fig.\u0026nbsp;1. The highest percentage of patients used all or a portion of their savings (35%, n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;166) on treatment, 30% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;144) reported reduced spending on clothing, and 24% (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;114) reported reduced spending on leisure activities such as vacations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n\u003ctable id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDeceased cancer patients\u0026rsquo; and participating family members\u0026rsquo; characteristics\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/caption\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth colspan=\"2\" rowspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePatients\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e%\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGender\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e302\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e59\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e208\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e41\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAge\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;65 y\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e65\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e65\u0026ndash;74 y\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e161\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;75 y\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e284\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e56\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrimary tumor site\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLung\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e112\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStomach\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eColon\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e63\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLiver, bile duct, pancreas\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e109\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e21\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e149\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDuration of care received\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;2 weeks\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e144\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e28\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2 weeks to 1 month\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e155\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;2 months\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e120\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e24\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;2 months\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e91\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeriod from cancer diagnosis to death\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;3 months\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e74\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3\u0026ndash;6 months\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e59\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6 months to 1 y\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e80\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;3 y\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e148\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;3 y\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e133\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDuration since death\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;6 months\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e109\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e21\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6\u0026ndash;8 months\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e113\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8\u0026ndash;10 months\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e104\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10\u0026ndash;12 months\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e94\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;12 months\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e90\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCost of care\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;1\u0026nbsp;million JPY\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e211\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e46\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;2\u0026nbsp;million JPY\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e134\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;2\u0026nbsp;million JPY\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e117\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEmployment status\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNone\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e353\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFull-time\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e85\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart-time\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e51\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhether the patient had financial concerns\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e79\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e409\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e84\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhether the patient had private cancer insurance\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e162\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e33\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e327\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e67\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhether the patient had used the high-cost medical care benefit system\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e332\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e67\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e110\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot sure\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"4\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e120\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e26\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e333\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e74\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"4\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhether the patient or family had consulted with medical staff about financial issues\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e65\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e418\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e87\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" rowspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBereaved family members\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e%\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGender\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e141\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e28\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e366\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAge\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;65 y\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e259\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e51\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e65\u0026ndash;74 y\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e163\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;75 y\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e84\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRelationship\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePartner\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e218\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e43\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChild\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e186\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e37\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChild-in-law\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eParent\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrother or sister\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e23\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEducational background\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eElementary and junior high school\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e66\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHigh school\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e222\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJunior college or vocational school\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e113\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e23\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUniversity\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e85\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGraduate school\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003ctfoot\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"5\"\u003eNot all the questions were responded to by all the participants and do not add up to 510. Consequently, the response rates of each question were different.\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tfoot\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n\u003ctable id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResults regarding whether patients had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/caption\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhether the patient had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment recommended by their doctor for financial reasons\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eN\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;484\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNever\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e412\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e85\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot very often\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome of the time\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost of the time\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot sure\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eType of treatment\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eN\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;45\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSurgery\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChemotherapy (intravenous)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e40\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChemotherapy (oral)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOral medicine (other than anticancer medicine)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRadiation therapy (other than proton beam therapy, heavy ion therapy)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMolecular-targeted drugs (insured)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProton beam therapy, heavy ion therapy\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnproven cancer treatments (e.g., vitamins, homeopathy, unproven immunotherapy)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhether the patient had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment they had wanted to receive for financial reasons\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eN\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;467\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNever\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e401\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e86\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot very often\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome of the time\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost of the time\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot sure\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e39\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eType of treatment\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eN\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;27\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSurgery\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChemotherapy (intravenous)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChemotherapy (oral)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOral medicine (other than anticancer medicine)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRadiation therapy (other than proton beam therapy, heavy ion therapy)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMolecular-targeted drugs (insured)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProton beam therapy, heavy ion therapy\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e26\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnproven cancer treatments (e.g., vitamins, homeopathy, unproven immunotherapy)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e37\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe results of logistic regression analysis comparing subjects who reported never and most of the time/some of the time/not very often in response to the question regarding whether patients had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment are described in Tables\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. Among all socioeconomic background variables described in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, the items of \u0026ldquo;whether the patient had financial concerns\u0026rdquo; (odds ratio [OR]\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.25\u0026ndash;5.14, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.010), \u0026ldquo;whether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment\u0026rdquo; (OR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.80, 95% CI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.47\u0026ndash;5.36, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.002), and \u0026ldquo;whether the patient or family had consulted with medical staff about financial issues\u0026rdquo; (OR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.52, 95% CI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.22\u0026ndash;5.18, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.012) had a significant correlation with \u0026ldquo;whether patients had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment recommended by their physician\u0026rdquo;. \u0026ldquo;Cost of care\u0026rdquo; (OR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.62, 95% CI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.32\u0026ndash;9.95, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.030), \u0026ldquo;whether the patient had financial concerns\u0026rdquo; (OR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.89, 95% CI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.68\u0026ndash;9.00, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.002), \u0026ldquo;whether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment\u0026rdquo; (OR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6.54, 95% CI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.76\u0026ndash;15.50, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.0001), and \u0026ldquo;whether the patient or family had consulted with medical staff about financial issues\u0026rdquo; (OR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.51, 95% CI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.50\u0026ndash;8.24, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.004) were significantly related to \u0026ldquo;whether patients had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment they wanted to receive\u0026rdquo;. Regarding patients\u0026rsquo; experiences in paying for treatment, there were significant correlations between all 11 questions and \u0026ldquo;whether patients had withdrawn from or changed the cancer treatment recommended by their physician\u0026rdquo;.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n\u003ctable id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCorrelation between patient characteristics and whether patients had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/caption\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth colspan=\"4\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTreatment recommended by physician\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth colspan=\"4\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTreatment patients wanted to receive\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e95% CI\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ep\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e95% CI\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ep\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLow\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHigh\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLow\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHigh\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGender\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(vs. Male)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.80\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.42\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.52\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.50\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.70\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.31\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.60\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.40\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAge\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(vs. \u0026lt;65 y)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e65\u0026ndash;74 y\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.60\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.56\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.35\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.34\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.98\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.36\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;75 y\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.73\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.31\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.71\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.85\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.46\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.42\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.073\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrimary tumor site\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(vs. Lung)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStomach, colon\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.26\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.16\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.09\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.71\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLiver, bile duct, pancreas\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.54\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.20\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.46\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.33\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.03\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.36\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.89\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.077\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.17\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.53\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.59\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.062\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.83\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.30\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.28\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.21\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDuration of care received\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(vs. \u0026lt;2 weeks)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2 weeks to 1 month\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.73\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.76\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.93\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.50\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.59\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.082\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;2 months\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.96\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.37\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.52\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.44\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.70\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;2 months\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.70\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.68\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.29\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.34\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.87\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.01\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.99\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCost of care\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(vs. \u0026lt;1\u0026nbsp;million JPY)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;2\u0026nbsp;million JPY\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.82\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.83\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.96\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.37\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.18\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.74\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.46\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.76\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;2\u0026nbsp;million JPY\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.78\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.80\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.43\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.62\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.32\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9.95\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.030\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEmployment status\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(vs. None)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFull-time\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.83\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.33\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.07\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.67\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.32\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.23\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart-time\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.79\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.74\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.35\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.08\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.73\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.89\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhether the patient had financial concerns\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.54\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.14\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.010\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.89\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.68\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhether the patient had private cancer insurance\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.93\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.76\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.82\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.94\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.41\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.17\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.89\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"5\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.80\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.47\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.36\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.54\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.76\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e15.50\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"6\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhether the patient or family had consulted with medical staff about financial issues\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.52\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.18\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.012\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.51\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.50\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8.24\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003ctfoot\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"10\"\u003eOR: odds ratio, CI: confidence interval.\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tfoot\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n\u003ctable id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCorrelation between whether patients had withdrawn from or changed cancer treatment and changes in daily life\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/caption\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth colspan=\"4\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTreatment recommended by doctor\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003cth colspan=\"4\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTreatment patients wanted to receive\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/th\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e95% CI\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ep\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e95% CI\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ep\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLow\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHigh\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLow\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHigh\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUsed all or a portion of savings\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.14\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.14\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.04\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.018\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.45\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.52\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.81\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReduced spending on clothing\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.42\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.29\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.56\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.006\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.42\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.55\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.54\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReduced spending on leisure activities such as vacations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.89\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.03\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.47\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.03\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.87\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.71\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReduced spending on food\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.51\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.29\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.89\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.82\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.70\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8.61\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWorried about family\u0026rsquo;s living and school expenses\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.02\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.57\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.81\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.24\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.43\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.35\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.005\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBorrowed money from relatives (e.g., parents, children, siblings)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.21\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.54\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.71\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.002\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.99\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.72\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.56\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.19\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHad disputes about money with family members\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.33\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.59\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.97\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.34\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.32\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8.46\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.011\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRefrained from going to the hospital or purchasing prescription drugs\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.54\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13.86\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.02\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e18.13\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWorked more hours to increase income (e.g., overtime, side jobs)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.13\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.62\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10.54\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.72\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.38\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.86\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.48\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMoved to a house where the rent was cheaper\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.59\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.66\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.66\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.25\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.48\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10.45\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.30\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSold possessions or property\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes (vs. No)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.62\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.24\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10.59\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.24\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.48\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10.42\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.30\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003ctfoot\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"10\"\u003eOR: odds ratio, CI: confidence interval.\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tfoot\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe results of this study revealed that only a few (approximately 6\u0026ndash;9%) patients with cancer in Japan withdrew from or changed the cancer treatment that was recommended by their physicians or that they opted to receive for financial reasons. However, in patients with financial difficulties or concerns due to cancer treatment, there was a significant correlation between their concerns and withdrawing from or changing treatment. Furthermore, it became clear that the patients\u0026rsquo; subjective indices might have a stronger influence on withdrawing from or changing treatment than their objective financial situation. The strength of our results is the fact that they reflect the entire experience from cancer diagnosis to end-of-life, and not only a particular phase of cancer treatment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this study, approximately 6\u0026ndash;9% of patients with cancer withdrew or changed their cancer treatment to some degree for financial reasons during their entire treatment period. This result may reflect the strength of the Japanese health insurance system. A previous study [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e] from the United States reported that 7\u0026ndash;9% of patients had altered the care recommended by their physician, such as not having a test and/or procedure or missing a clinical or chemotherapy appointment. Considering that our results also included respondents who answered, \u0026ldquo;some of the time\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;not very often\u0026rdquo;, relatively fewer participants in this study withdrew from or changed cancer treatment compared with that study. However, it should be noted that the previous study was based on patient-reported outcomes, whereas the present study was based on responses from bereaved family members. In addition, the previous study was conducted in the United States, where the out-of-pocket costs for patients are substantial and not all patients with cancer are insured [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. In addition, few studies have investigated the financial burden of end-of-life care [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e], whereas a systematic review reported greater financial toxicity among patients with early-stage disease and/or more severe cancers [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. The present study did not ask about the specific period of cancer treatment, but rather the entire period. Our results suggest that not all patients\u0026rsquo; financial burdens are well managed under the Japanese health-care system.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn our study, the treatments that patients had wanted to receive before withdrawing or changing treatment for financial reasons included unproven cancer treatments, such as vitamins, homeopathy, and unproven immunotherapy (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;10, 37%), and advanced medical treatments, such as proton beam therapy and heavy ion therapy (26%), neither or which are covered by insurance in Japan at the time the present survey was conducted. On the other hand, the percentage of patients who had difficulty continuing treatment that is covered by insurance was small. Again, it is difficult to compare the results as there are few reports of treatment withdrawal or change in other countries; however, the results of our study reflect the characteristics of the Japanese health-care system. Although unproven treatments and some advanced medical treatments are not covered by insurance in Japan, patients can receive standard treatment under the universal health-care system. Previous studies from Japan reported that almost half of cancer patients used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) regardless of whether they were of proven efficacy and safety [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]. Hyodo et al. indicated that oncologists must keep CAM in mind due to the high prevalence of usage by cancer patients [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. On the other hand, Suzuki and colleagues reported that these uninsured treatments are often expensive, and approximately 30% of patients and families considered them a financial burden [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]. Although patients\u0026rsquo; wishes should be respected as much as possible in regard to uninsured treatments, it is important to ensure that patients receive the standard treatments recommended by their physician, and that they do not have to withdraw from or change treatment because of a financial burden.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMoreover, in this study, there were significant correlations between the patients\u0026rsquo; experiences regarding financial difficulties and their having to withdraw/change treatment. In addition, our results indicated that patients with financial difficulties were more likely to withdraw or change their treatment when the treatment had been suggested by their physician rather than being chosen by them. Therefore, medical staff should consider the financial difficulties of patients in relation to treatment, i.e., financial toxicity, as a serious side effect and assist patients in their decision-making by taking their socioeconomic background into consideration [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e]. It might also be advisable to refer patients to specialists, such as medical social workers, so that they can receive and continue the treatment they need.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinally, the study results suggested that subjective items used to evaluate the financial status of the patients, such as \u0026ldquo;whether the patient had financial concerns\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;whether the patient had cut down on his/her living expenses to pay for cancer treatment\u0026rdquo;, and \u0026ldquo;whether the patient or family had consulted with medical staff about financial issues\u0026rdquo;, were significantly related to withdrawing from or changing cancer treatment, whereas objective items, such as the duration of care received and annual income, were not. This indicates that the reason a patient decides to withdraw from or change cancer treatment might often be difficult for the medical staff to notice. Hence, medical staff might need to talk to patients to understand their subjective financial situation and introduce available support systems. In addition, previous studies have indicated that there are often barriers in terms of employment of cancer survivors.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Japan, the out-of-pocket costs for patients are lower because of the medical system, so it seems that withdrawing from or changing cancer treatment occurs less frequently than in other countries. A systematic review of the financial toxicity associated with a variety of cancer diagnoses in countries with publicly funded health care reported out-of-pocket costs of 273 USD per month, even in countries with the most inexpensive health care [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. As mentioned previously, Japan has a unique system that includes a \u0026ldquo;ceiling amount\u0026rdquo; for high-cost medical expenses, which limits monthly out-of-pocket costs to approximately 100\u0026ndash;2,500 USD. Although no reports from Japan were included in the previous review, Japan could be considered one of the countries with the lowest out-of-pocket cancer costs. However, a small number of patients still had to withdraw from or change the treatment recommended by their physician because of a financial burden. Therefore, it might be necessary to improve health-care policies in Japan so that fewer patients with cancer experience financial burdens/toxicity when undergoing treatment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eLimitations\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study had several limitations. First, the participants were limited to those who had lost their loved ones in palliative care units in Japan. Second, there was a potential bias due to missing data from non-responders (response rate: 60%). Third, we could not discuss causality because of the cross-sectional study design. Fourth, the financial background of the patients, such as employment status, might have changed depending on their duration of care and disease condition.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn this study, 6\u0026ndash;9% of the patients with cancer withdrew from or changed their cancer treatment by their end-of-life for financial reasons. These results suggest the importance of considering financial aspects during treatment-related decision-making.\u003c/p\u003e "},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFunding\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant No. JP 18K17480).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eConflict of interest\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was supported by Hospice Palliative Care Japan. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eData availability\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author (M.A.) upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCode availability\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAuthor\u0026rsquo;s contributions\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study was conceived by Taichi Sasaki and Maho Aoyama. The study was designed by Maho Aoyama and Mitsunori Miyashita. Data were collected by Naoko Igarashi. Data were analyzed by Taichi Sasaki and Maho Aoyama. All authors contributed to the data interpretation. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Taichi Sasaki and Maho Aoyama. All authors contributed to the revision of the manuscript and reviewed the final version for submission.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEthics approval\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthical approval for the study was granted by the institutional review boards of Tohoku University Hospital and all participating institutions (Approval No. 2016\u0026ndash;1-015).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eConsent to participate\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA document explaining the aims and procedures of the study was sent along with the questionnaire, stating that return of a completed questionnaire would be considered to indicate consent to participate in the study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA document was sent along with the questionnaire, stating that return of a completed questionnaire would be considered to indicate full consent for publication.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe wish to thank all the participants and institutions that participated in the study. English language editing and grammar check was supported by FORTE Science Communications (https://www.fortescience.com/).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eZafar SY, Abernethy AP (2013) Financial toxicity, Part II: how can we help with the burden of treatment-related costs? Oncology (Williston Park) 27:253-254, 256\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eZafar SY, Abernethy AP (2013) Financial toxicity, Part I: a new name for a growing problem. Oncology (Williston Park) 27:80-81, 149\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eZafar SY, Peppercorn JM, Schrag D, Taylor DH, Goetzinger AM, Zhong X et al (2013) The financial toxicity of cancer treatment: a pilot study assessing out-of-pocket expenses and the insured cancer patient\u0026apos;s experience. Oncologist 18:381-390. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2012-0279\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ede Souza JA, Yap BJ, Hlubocky FJ, Wroblewski K, Ratain MJ, Cella D et al (2014) The development of a financial toxicity patient-reported outcome in cancer: The COST measure. Cancer 120:3245-3253. doi: 10.1002/cncr.28814\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eGordon LG, Merollini KM, Lowe A, Chan RJ (2016) A Systematic Review of Financial Toxicity Among Cancer Survivors: We Can\u0026apos;t Pay the Co-Pay. Patient. doi: 10.1007/s40271-016-0204-x\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eMoore KA (1999) Breast cancer patients\u0026apos; out-of-pocket expenses. Cancer Nurs 22:389-396. doi: 10.1097/00002820-199910000-00007\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSharp L, Timmons A (2016) Pre-diagnosis employment status and financial circumstances predict cancer-related financial stress and strain among breast and prostate cancer survivors. Support Care Cancer 24:699-709. doi: 10.1007/s00520-015-2832-4\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eBarbaret C, Brosse C, Rhondali W, Ruer M, Monsarrat L, Michaud P et al (2017) Financial distress in patients with advanced cancer. PLoS One 12:e0176470. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176470\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePearce A, Tomalin B, Kaambwa B, Horevoorts N, Duijts S, Mols F et al (2019) Financial toxicity is more than costs of care: the relationship between employment and financial toxicity in long-term cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv 13:10-20. doi: 10.1007/s11764-018-0723-7\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eHonda K, Gyawali B, Ando M, Sugiyama K, Mitani S, Masuishi T et al (2018) A prospective survey of comprehensive score for financial toxicity in Japanese cancer patients: report on a pilot study. Ecancermedicalscience 12:847. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2018.847\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eIkegami N, Yoo BK, Hashimoto H, Matsumoto M, Ogata H, Babazono A et al (2011) Japanese universal health coverage: evolution, achievements, and challenges. Lancet 378:1106-1115. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60828-3\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eShibuya K, Hashimoto H, Ikegami N, Nishi A, Tanimoto T, Miyata H et al (2011) Future of Japan\u0026apos;s system of good health at low cost with equity: beyond universal coverage. Lancet 378:1265-1273. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61098-2\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSchoen C, Doty MM, Robertson RH, Collins SR (2011) Affordable Care Act reforms could reduce the number of underinsured US adults by 70 percent. Health Aff (Millwood) 30:1762-1771. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0335\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eHanratty B, Holland P, Jacoby A, Whitehead M (2007) Financial stress and strain associated with terminal cancer--a review of the evidence. Palliat Med 21:595-607. doi: 10.1177/0269216307082476\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eCheung MC, Earle CC, Rangrej J, Ho TH, Liu N, Barbera L et al (2015) Impact of aggressive management and palliative care on cancer costs in the final month of life. Cancer 121:3307-3315. doi: 10.1002/cncr.29485\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eLongo CJ, Fitch MI, Banfield L, Hanly P, Yabroff KR, Sharp L (2020) Financial toxicity associated with a cancer diagnosis in publicly funded healthcare countries: a systematic review. Support Care Cancer 28:4645-4665. doi: 10.1007/s00520-020-05620-9\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eHyodo I, Amano N, Eguchi K, Narabayashi M, Imanishi J, Hirai M et al (2005) Nationwide survey on complementary and alternative medicine in cancer patients in Japan. J Clin Oncol 23:2645-2654. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2005.04.126\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSuzuki K, Morita T, Tanaka K, Tei Y, Azuma Y, Igarashi N et al (2017) Nationwide survey on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer patients who died at palliative care units in Japan: Prevalance of CAM and family experience. Pallitaive Care Researsh 12:731-737. doi: \u003ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.2512/jspm.12.731\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.2512/jspm.12.731\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAlexander GC, Casalino LP, Meltzer DO (2003) Patient-physician communication about out-of-pocket costs. JAMA 290:953-958. doi: 10.1001/jama.290.7.953\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"supportive-care-in-cancer","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"jscc","sideBox":"Learn more about [Supportive Care in Cancer](https://www.springer.com/journal/520)","snPcode":"520","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/520/3","title":"Supportive Care in Cancer","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Cancer, oncology, financial toxicity, financial burden, palliative care, family caregivers","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-906189/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-906189/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePurpose\u003c/em\u003e: This study aimed to examine the effect of financial burden of cancer treatment from diagnosis to end-of-life on treatment withdrawal or change in Japan. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMethods\u003c/em\u003e: This study was part of a nationwide survey of bereaved family members of cancer patients in Japan (J-HOPE2016 study). We asked questions regarding withdrawal or change of cancer treatment (stratified according to whether the treatment was recommended by physicians or based on the patients’ request), experiences of financial difficulties in coping with cancer treatment expenses, and the participants’ socioeconomic background. We conducted descriptive analyses and used logistic regression to examine the factors related to withdrawal or change of cancer treatment. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eResults\u003c/em\u003e: Approximately 7.5% of participants reported withdrawal or change of cancer treatment for financial reasons. The experiences of financial difficulties in coping with cancer treatment expenses such as using up all or a portion of one’s savings (OR=2.14, 95% CI=1.14-4.04, p=0.018 / OR=3.45, 95% CI=1.52-7.81, p=0.003) and subjective financial burden (OR=2.54, 95% CI=1.25-5.14, p=0.010 / OR=3.89, 95% CI=1.68-9.00, p=0.002) were significantly related to withdrawal or change of cancer treatment (recommended by physicians / based on patient request). \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eConclusion:\u003c/em\u003e Fewer participants reported withdrawal or change of cancer treatment than in previous studies, which might reflect the characteristics of the Japanese health-care system. However, there are patients in Japan who withdraw or change cancer treatment for financial reasons. Medical staff should consider financial toxicity as a serious side effect and assist patients in their decision-making regarding treatment while considering their socioeconomic background.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Influence of Financial Burden on Withdrawal or Change of Cancer Treatment in Japan: Results of a Bereavement Survey","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2021-10-19 15:24:26","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-906189/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2021-11-01T08:24:28+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2021-10-29T00:59:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2021-09-16T01:31:49+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Supportive Care in Cancer","date":"2021-09-14T03:03:54+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"
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