Soaring costs of cancer care gives little pain relief to patients

MediCare International, a private medical health care provider, has uncovered exactly what it costs for an average cancer patient in western Europe. With the proliferation of new expensive cancer treatments on the market, coupled with government's being unable to fund the specific needs of each patient on a case-by-case basis, costs are becoming prohibitive without the correct insurance.

Taking breast cancer as an example, it notes that western society has the highest rate of the disease; according to the World Health Organization, one in 16 women in western Europe will be affected by breast cancer. In the UK, nearly 46,000 are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and more than 1,000 women die of the disease each month.