SymptomManagement and Supportive Care Financial Distress and Its Associations With Physical and Emotional Symptoms and Quality of Life Among Advanced Cancer Patients

Disclosures of potential conflicts of interest may be found at the end of this article. Key Words. Financial distress x Advanced cancer x Quality of life Objective.There are limited data on the effects of financial distress (FD) on overall suffering and quality of life (QOL) of patients with advanced cancer (AdCa). In this cross-sectional study, we examined the frequency of FD and its correlates in AdCa. Patients and Methods.We interviewed 149 patients, 77 at acomprehensivecancercenter (CCC)and72atageneralpublic hospital (GPH). AdCa completed a self-rated FD (subjective experience of distress attributed to financial problems) nu-meric rating scale (0 5 best, 10 5 worst) and validated questionnaires assessing symptoms (Edmonton Symptom As-sessment System [ESAS]), psychosocial distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]), and QOL (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General [FACT-G]). Results. The patients ’ median age was 60 years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 58.6–61.5 years); 74 (50%) were female;48of77atCCC(62%)versus13of72atGPH(18%)were white; 21 of 77 (27%) versus 32 of 72 (38%) at CCC and GPH, respectively,were black; and 7of 77 (9%) versus 27of 72 (38%