Good fortune begets good fortune, and bad fortune begets bad fortune. That seems to be the way the world works. It's the same in Fort Lauderdale and everywhere else in the country. As if to add credence to this notion, a presentation was made at the most recent annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, on the premise that there is a definite link between cancer and bankruptcy.

The presentation was entitled, "Cancer diagnosis as a risk factor for personal bankruptcy." In short, it found that people who are diagnosed with cancer are at increased risk for having such drastic financial troubles that they are forced to seek bankruptcy protection.

The study that was presented used data from bankruptcy court records and National Cancer Institute records that track cancer diagnoses and the survival rate of cancer patients.

Out of all of the more than 230,000 cancer cases examined, there were 4,805 patients who sought personal bankruptcy protection after their cancer diagnosis. This is an overall rate of 2.1 percent.

However, there were certain types of cancer that were more likely than others to increase the risk of subsequent financial failure and then bankruptcy under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. For sufferers of leukemia or lymphoma cancers, or lung or thyroid cancers, the researchers found that 7.7 percent of the patients filed for bankruptcy within five years.

Fort Lauderdale bankruptcy attorneys would point out that what is not exactly knowable from looking at the raw data of cancer diagnoses and bankruptcies is how the cancer disrupts the patients' finances. It is likely that in many cases the financial difficulties are related to medical bills associated with the disease, but there could also be loss of income if cancer patients are unable to work.

There is evidence that medical bills are the main culprit. For patients over 65, with access to Medicare, there is a much lower likelihood of a patient having cancer and filing for bankruptcy.

Source: Bankruptcy Beat "Study Illuminates Link Between Cancer, Bankruptcy" 6/7/2011