Health Economics and Cancer Survivorship

In this chapter, we review both the methodology of economic evaluation and evidence from the literature to advance the understanding of the role of economic considerations in evaluating health care in general and program options to improve the quality of cancer survivorship. Some might say that it is imperative to consider the economics because the scarcity of resources obliges individuals, organizations, and societies to select only a small subset of all health-care intervention and program possibilities. Essentially, economic analysis provides invaluable information for short- and long-run policy decision making at the national and local levels, for cancer survivors and their families, for insurers and health-care providers, for employers, and for society as a whole.