International medical tourism of US cancer patients for alternative cancer treatments: Financial, demographic, and clinical profiles of online crowdfunding campaigns

• Published in: Cancer medicine (Malden, MA) Vol. 12; no. 7; pp. 8871 - 8879
• Main Authors: Peterson, John, Wilson, Trevor F., Watt, Melissa H., Gruhl, Josh, Davis, Sydney, Olsen, Jaxon, Parsons, Matthew W., Kann, Benjamin H., Swire‐Thompson, Briony, Fagerlin, Angela, Warner, Echo L., King, Andy J., Chino, Fumiko, Johnson, Skyler B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-04-2023; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Alliances; alternative cancer therapy; Alternative medicine; Beneficiaries; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Chemotherapy; Crowdfunding; Crowdsourcing; Demography; financial toxicity; Fund Raising; health misinformation; Humans; International travel; internet research; Medical Tourism; Neoplasms - epidemiology; Neoplasms - therapy; Patients; Radiation therapy; Social networks; Tourism; Toxicity; Travel; United States; United States; United States > US; medical tourism; health misinformation; internet research; financial toxicity; alternative cancer therapy
• DOI: 10.1002/cam4.5636
• EISSN: 2045-7634

Background
Previous research has found that individuals may travel outside their home countries in pursuit of alternative cancer therapies (ACT). The goal of this study is to compare individuals in the United States who propose plans for travel abroad for ACT, compared with individuals who seek ACT domestically.
Methods
Clinical and treatment data were extracted from campaign descriptions of 615 GoFundMe® campaigns fundraising for individuals in the United States seeking ACT between 2011 and 2019. We examined treatment modalities, treatment location, fundraising metrics, and online engagement within campaign profiles. Clinical and demographic differences between those who proposed international travel and those who sought ACT domestically were examined using two‐sided Fisher's exact tests. Differences in financial and social engagement data were examined using two‐sided Mann–Whitney tests.
Results
Of the total 615 campaigns, 237 (38.5%) mentioned plans to travel internationally for ACT, with the majority (81.9%) pursuing travel to Mexico. Campaigns that proposed international treatment requested more money ($35,000 vs. $22,650, p < 0.001), raised more money ($7833 vs. $5035, p < 0.001), had more donors (57 vs. 45, p = 0.02), and were shared more times (377 vs. 290.5, p = 0.008) compared to campaigns that did not. The median financial shortfall was greater for campaigns pursuing treatments internationally (−$22,640 vs. ‐$13,436, p < 0.003).
Conclusions
Campaigns proposing international travel for ACT requested and received more money, were shared more online, and had more donors. However, there was significantly more unmet financial need among this group, highlighting potential financial toxicity on patients and families.