What a cancer diagnosis really costs — and why it can become a financial crisis
Tasia Wells/Getty Images for The Trevor Project
- A GoFundMe for James Van Der Beek's family highlights how expensive cancer is for working-age Americans.
- Business Insider reporting shows that young adults with cancer lose $5,000 in annual wages on average.
- Financial challenges can be compounded by career setbacks and insurance stress.
A GoFundMe for James Van Der Beek's family highlights a harsh reality of young cancer diagnoses: they can be financially devastating.
"The costs of James's medical care and the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds," reads the fundraising page.
The effort raised over $1 million in 24 hours following the actor's death from colorectal cancer on February 11.
Van Der Beek, who was 48, was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2023 and publicly announced his diagnosis in late 2024. He is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and their six children. The fundraiser says the money will help pay off Van Der Beek's care, cover household expenses, and support the kids' education.
The family's story underscores the financial struggles for millions of Americans navigating a cancer diagnosis under 50. While it's hard to face steep healthcare costs at any time, it can be especially challenging during prime earning years. Van Der Beek worked in TV and movies from the 1990s to the early 2020s.
Young cancer patients lose $5,000 in yearly wages
Business Insider heard from dozens of patients as part of a yearlong investigation into young cancer cases. They told us about the credit card debt they incurred from treatment, the skyrocketing cost of health insurance, and the impact of cancer on their working lives long past recovery.
Our newsroom collaboration with health economists at GoodRx found that the average 30-something with a stage 3 colon cancer diagnosis spends $45,000 out of pocket in their first year of treatment. Chemotherapy, prescriptions, insurance premiums, fertility treatments, and unexpected costs like transportation and mobility aids are included in that figure.
Lost wages are too — young patients in their prime earning years typically miss out on thousands of dollars in income.
The GoodRx analysis of data in the national Medical Expenditure Panel Survey found that the average cancer patient ages 18 to 44 loses $5,104 in annual wages and 26 days of work due to illness. This is markedly more than older patients outside their prime working window: Patients ages 45 to 64 lose $2,903 in wages and 18 days of work.
These numbers are averages, and a particular patient's wage losses and costs may vary depending on their age, job, treatment plan, and location. But it highlights a truth for young adults like Van Der Beek: Bills for cancer care can hit at a time when people are financially vulnerable or facing income instability.
Financial challenges can also be compounded by career setbacks. Young cancer patients told Business Insider they struggled to balance their workload with constant medical appointments and worried about losing out on promotions. Some had to quit their jobs, while others couldn't afford to give up their employer-sponsored health insurance. Medical debt is among the top causes of bankruptcy in the US, and is more frequently reported by millennials than any other generation.
What's harder to capture in data is the emotional toll young cancer has on patients, especially those who consider their careers to be part of their identities.
As Van Der Beek told Business Insider last year: "All these beautiful things that I love, and I used to define myself as — a father, a provider, a husband — all that got taken away, or at least paused. I had to sit there and say, 'Well, what am I?' And it was, 'I'm still worthy of love.'"