The High Price of Cancer Does Not Discriminate
More than half a million Americans die of cancer every year.
Breast cancer survivor Paulette Leaphart’s journey is a powerful reminder that scars—whether physical or emotional than cancer leave on our lives. These scars are not just fact of life for the survivors but their loved ones as well.
Paulette made a journey of 1000 miles, from Mississippi to Washington, D.C., on foot and topless to make a point to Congress about how broken our healthcare system is.
A 2011 study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute determined the cost of all cancer care in the U.S. totaled $124.5 billion in 2010. The researchers projected the total cost would rise to $157.7 billion by 2020.
Each year, cancer costs the world more money than any other disease, according to the American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR).
Cancer costs $895 billion annually. Comparatively, heart disease costs $753 billion. Nothing else comes close, with traffic accidents and diabetes each costing about $204 billion.
The AICR estimates Americans lost 83 million years of healthy life because of cancer deaths and disabilities in 2008.
Watch her amazing video below.
A documentary is being produced about Paulette’s journey. Click here for more information.
