Fighting cancer requires innovative research and new therapies to combat the disease but we also need more people like Dr. Veena Shankaran to take up the mantle of “Tackling Financial Toxicity”. Ever heard of financial toxicity? It’s when the cost of health care drains a patient’s finances, leading to bankruptcy and poorer health.
The Hutch News recently published an article titled “Dr. Veena Shankaran named 2019 Leader in Health Care”. Congratulations to Dr. Shankaran for her work in medical research as well as in the study of financial toxicity in cancer.
In 2012, Dr. Veena Shankaran received a Charles A. Coltman, Jr. Fellowship Award from the SWOG Cancer Research Network Hope Foundation. Dr. Shankaran took her $100,000 grant and used it to develop an idea that is, today, the first study of financial toxicity in NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN).
In 2018, Dr. Shankaran led a team that studied a Pilot Feasibility Study of an Oncology Financial Navigation Program. The study concluded that implementing an oncology financial navigation program is feasible, provides concrete assistance in navigating the cost of care, and mitigates anxiety about costs in a subset of patients.
We at Carexst, LLC applaud Dr. Shankaran for her work in raising awareness to the problems of financial toxicity in cancer patients.