Table 1.
Characteristics of Cancer Survivors
| Age Group | χ2 P | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-64 Years | ≥ 65 Years* | ||||
| No. | Weighted Percentage | No. | Weighted Percentage | ||
| Total | 565 | 100.0 | 637 | 100.0 | |
| Current age, years | 59 | 9.8 | — | — | — |
| 18-39 | |||||
| 40-54 | 221 | 38.3 | — | — | |
| 55-64 | 285 | 51.9 | — | — | |
| 65-74 | 317 | 50.3 | |||
| ≥ 75* | 320 | 49.7 | |||
| Sex | 166 | 33.4 | 301 | 50.0 | < .001 |
| Male | |||||
| Female | 399 | 66.6 | 336 | 50.0 | |
| Race/ethnicity | 397 | 81.7 | 513 | 89.4 | < .001 |
| Non-Hispanic white only | |||||
| All other race/ethnicities | 168 | 18.3 | 124 | 10.6 | |
| Current marital status | 310 | 61.0 | 330 | 54.0 | .049 |
| Married | |||||
| Not married† | 255 | 39.0 | 307 | 46.0 | |
| Education | < .001 | ||||
| Less than high school graduate | 68 | 8.4 | 119 | 13.8 | |
| High school graduate | 177 | 26.1 | 242 | 36.1 | |
| Some college or more | 319 | 65.5 | 275 | 50.1 | |
| Current family income as percent of poverty level (in quartiles)‡ | 186 | 23.1 | 235 | 26.6 | .103 |
| Q1: < 185.24 | |||||
| Q2: 185.24-328.31 | 125 | 21.8 | 172 | 27.6 | |
| Q3: 328.32-589.40 | 144 | 27.4 | 124 | 23.0 | |
| Q4: ≥ 589.41 | 110 | 27.7 | 106 | 22.9 | |
| Change in employment status due to cancer | — | ||||
| Employed at or after diagnosis and took extended paid or unpaid leave or switched to part time | 173 | 30.8 | — | — | |
| Employed, but did not take extended leave or switch to part time | 223 | 41.6 | — | — | |
| Not employed at or after diagnosis/missing | 169 | 27.7 | — | — | |
| Current health insurance§ | 380 | 75.2 | — | — | — |
| Age < 65, any private | |||||
| Age < 65, public only | 120 | 15.8 | — | — | |
| Age < 65, uninsured | 65 | 9.1 | — | — | |
| Age ≥ 65, Medicare and private* | 361 | 62.9 | |||
| Age ≥ 65, Medicare and other public* | 61 | 5.9 | |||
| Age ≥ 65, Medicare only* | 210 | 30.4 | |||
| Number of known MEPS priority conditions (excluding cancer)‖ | 138 | 24.5 | 42 | 6.4 | < .001 |
| 0 | |||||
| 1 | 114 | 22.5 | 74 | 13.0 | |
| 2 | 117 | 21.3 | 124 | 20.8 | |
| 3-8 | 196 | 31.7 | 397 | 59.8 | |
| Years since last cancer treatment | 129 | 24.8 | 149 | 23.5 | .321 |
| 1 | |||||
| 1 to < 5 | 137 | 24.2 | 127 | 20.1 | |
| ≥ 5¶ | 241 | 41.9 | 274 | 43.9 | |
| Never treated/missing | 58 | 9.1 | 87 | 12.5 | |
NOTE. N = 1,202. Data from the 2011 MEPS Experiences With Cancer Survey. Boldface type indicates statistical significance.Abbreviations: MEPS, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey; Q, quartile (Q1 is the lowest income as a percentage of poverty line quartile, and Q4 is the highest income quartile).
Age top-coded ≥ 85 by the MEPS.
Not married includes widowed, divorced, separated, or never married.
Quartiles of family income as a percent of poverty level defined based on distribution in full sample.
Public insurance included Medicare, Medicaid, State Children's Health Insurance Program, and/or other public hospital/physician coverage. Age < 65, public only, comprised people younger than 65 years who had one or more types of public coverage and did not have private coverage. Age ≥ 65, Medicare and other public, comprised people age 65 and older who had both Medicare and one or more of other types of public coverage. TRICARE/CHAMPVA was treated as private coverage, as were employer-based, union-based, and other private insurance.
MEPS priority conditions include arthritis, asthma, diabetes, emphysema, heart disease (angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack, other heart condition/disease), high cholesterol, hypertension, and stroke.
Years since last treatment top-coded at ≥ 20 by the MEPS.