The Cost of Cancer
Critical Illness Insurance
In the U.S., nearly 40% of people will develop cancer during their lifetimes.1
Nearly two million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2025.1 A cancer diagnosis can disrupt lives in many ways, both for patients and for their families. In addition to the myriad physical and emotional challenges, many people worry about how they will pay for treatment or what will happen if they aren’t able to work.
Supplemental Health Insurance to Help Bridge Coverage Gaps
Explore Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity plans.
What are the Costs of Cancer?
While there is no price tag for cancer, the National Cancer Institute found that the average cost of cancer care and medications was more than $42,000 in the first year after a diagnosis. Costs vary significantly depending on the patient’s type of cancer and the treatments chosen. Certain types of cancer can cost over $100,000 in the first year after diagnosis.2
While treatment options continue to advance, they also come with increases in costs. Newly approved medications can cost $283,000 annually, which explains why many patients report difficulty paying medical bills, anxiety about treatment cost, and delayed or forgone medical care due to cost.3,4
The financial burden of cancer can have devastating consequences. Medical debt and lost income due to treatment can place a substantial economic burden on both patients and families.5 Individuals with cancer related medical debt are three times more likely to be behind on recommended cancer screenings compared to those that are able to pay for treatment without accumulated debt.6
Nearly 25% of cancer patients and survivors owe $5,000 or more in medical expenses.6
Critical Illness Insurance Can Help
Critical Illness insurance is designed to help you handle the unexpected medical and non-medical expenses of cancer. It’s a type of supplemental insurance, meaning it’s an add-on to your primary health insurance that’s designed to help with excess expenses that are not fully covered.
Benefits are paid directly to you as a lump sum based on your selected coverage amount and can be used however you’d like—for co-pays, deductibles, and medication, or to make up for lost income and to help with mortgage, rent, or car payments.
While cancer can’t always be prevented, Critical Illness insurance issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, can help cover the costs of this and other serious illnesses like heart disease and Alzheimer’s. It can offer peace of mind and financial support to cancer patients and their loved ones when they need it most.
Enroll online and secure coverage now.
1 Cancer Stat Facts: Cancer of Any Site. The National Cancer Institute. seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/all.html, 2025.
2Financial Burden of Cancer Care. National Cancer Institute. progressreport.cancer.gov/after/economic_burden, Last reviewed April 2025.
3The Cost of Cancer. SERO. www.treatcancer.com/blog/cost-of-cancer, February 23, 2025.
4Kitaw TA, Tilahun BD, Zemariam AB, Getie A, Bizuayehu MA, Haile RN. The Financial Toxicity of Cancer: Unveiling Global Burden and Risk Factors – A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. BMJ Glob Health. 2025 Feb 10;10(2):e017133. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2024-017133.
5Financial Toxicity (Financial Distress) and Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version. National Cancer Institute. www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/managing-care/track-care-costs/financial-toxicity-pdq, Last updated June 6, 2024.
6Survey Finds Majority of Cancer Patients and Survivors Have or Expect to Incur Medical Debt. American Cancer Society. www.fightcancer.org/releases/survey-finds-majority-cancer-patients-and-survivors-have-or-expect-incur-medical-debt, May 9, 2024.
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