Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Treatment cost for breast cancer highest
Patients diagnosed with breast cancer, the most common cancer among Korean women, spend the most for treatments as they fight the disease longer, compared to those with other types of illness, according to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA), Sunday.
After examining 12,446 cancer patients who were diagnosed between 2001 and 2005 and died through 2007, the agency said breast cancer patients spent an average of 20.8 million won for chemotherapy and other medical treatments until death, followed by colon cancer at 15 million won, cervical cancer at 14 million won and lung cancer at 12.4 million won.
People with liver cancer were found to have spent 10 million won on average, with the total medical costs for those with pancreatic cancer standing at 9.9 million won.
After studying 304,681 cancer patients diagnosed between 2001 and 2005, the agency found that about 91.4 percent of breast cancer patients survived through the end of 2007, followed by colon cancer at 69.5 percent and cervical cancer at 84.2 percent. But only 9 percent of pancreatic cancer and 26.5 percent of liver cancer patients survived.
By Lee Hyo-sik
유방암 진료비 가장 많이 들어
한국 여성에게 가장 흔한 암인 유방암이 진료비용이 가장 많이 드는 것으로 나타났다.
건강보험 심사평가원은 그 이유로 유방암 환자들의 생존기간이 다른 암 환자보다 길기 때문이라고 밝혔다.
2001년에서 2005년에 암 진단을 받고 2007년말까지 사망한 12만8446명의 암환자를 대상으로 조사한 결과 유방암 사망환자의 총 진료비가 2,079만원으로 가장 많았다. 이어 대장암이 1,504만원 자궁경부암 1,406만원 순이었다.
평가원 관계자는 유방암 대장암 환자들은 다른 암환자에 비해 올해 생존한다며 그래서 다른 암환자보다 진료비가 많이 든다고 밝혔다.