Cancer patients are more likely to prefer high-risk treatments that may prolong survival versus safer treatments, according to University of Southern California researcher Darius Lakdawalla.
Given a choice between a “safe” treatment that is highly likely to keep the patient alive for 18 months (but no longer) and a treatment that has a 50-50 chance of adding either three years or none, 77% of the cancer patients studied chose to “swing for the fences.”
Insurers and policy makers should take note, Lakdawalla advises. “Consumers tend to dislike risk,” he says, “but patients facing a fatal disease with relatively short remaining life expectancy may have less to lose. … Value [of treatment options] should be defined from the viewpoint of the patient.”
Source: University of Southern California, www.usc.edu.