NPR

Widowed Early, A Cancer Doctor Writes About The Harm Of Medical Debt

A decade after the death of her husband, Fumiko Chino is studying the strain that uncovered medical costs put on cancer patients, even those who have insurance.
Andrew Ladd and Fumiko Chino at their wedding in 2006, after his cancer diagnosis. Ladd died the following year, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt.

Ten years ago, Fumiko Chino was the art director at a television production company in Houston, engaged to be married to a young Ph.D. candidate.

Today, she's a radiation oncologist at Duke University, studying the effects of financial strain on cancer patients. And she's a widow.

How she got from there to here is a story about how health care and money are intertwined in ways that doctors and patients don't like to talk about.

But Chino is determined to do so.

"I think of him. "It drives me to do the type of research that I do — that's looking at the financial toxicity of cancer care."

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR4 min read
These People Waited Hours To See The Trump Hush-money Trial Up Close. Here's Why
New Yorkers and tourists alike stand in line outside the Manhattan criminal court with hopes of securing a spot in one of the rooms where the trial against former President Donald Trump can be viewed.
NPR3 min read
What Are 'The Kids' Thinking These Days? Honor Levy Aims To Tell In 'My First Book'
Social media discourse and the inevitable backlash aside, the 26-year-old writer's first book is an amusing, if uneven, take on growing up white, privileged, and Gen Z.
NPR8 min readAmerican Government
Anti-war Protests, A Chicago DNC: Is It 1968 All Over Again? Some Historians Say No
There are clear similarities between 1968 and 2024, from presidential elections and anti-war protests to new Planet of the Apes movies. But historians tell NPR there are some key differences too.

Related Books & Audiobooks