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Cancer can affect anyone, but it doesn’t affect everyone equally.

Obstacles that are beyond a patient’s control can create barriers to cancer care. Health care disparities can affect every step of a person’s cancer care journey —screenings, access to cutting edge therapies, support systems, and quality of life during and after treatment, can all impact the life-expectancy of a patient. Research shows that the mortality rate doubles for those facing financial hardship.

We’ve come to learn — and science proves — that cancer patients need more than medicine to survive. Patients need practical help — housing, food, transportation, insurance, and someone they can trust when facing the fear and anxiety that come with their diagnosis.

New Day will continue to advocate for vulnerable populations in the cancer community. It is our goal to reduce financial and emotional distress in order to level the playing field for all Michigan families facing a cancer diagnosis.

  • Cancer patients are more likely to experience financial hardship if they are low-income, people of color, or less educated.
  • Hispanic and black patients are more likely to skip treatment to save money.
  • Despite having similar rates of breast cancer, black women are more likely to die of the disease than white women.
  • Patients of with lower levels of education and income had poorer survival rates than patients with higher levels of education and income.

What are Social Determinants of Health?

Social determinants of health (SDoH) are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider systems that shape daily life.

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