Financial Toxicity

Financial toxicity functions as a systemic barrier to equitable cancer care rather than merely individual financial hardship, particularly for rural and low-income populations in LMICs. Research from high-income and middle-income countries documents the scale of financial toxicity worldwide. This is the first qualitative study to explore financial toxicity among cancer patients in Pakistan. Inability to maintain previous employment was consistently identified as a primary driver of financial toxicity, compounding the burden of direct medical costs. Financial toxicity creates a feedback loop in which impaired treatment adherence worsens prognosis, prolongs illness, and deepens poverty.