Today news broke that actress Shannen Doherty is being treated for breast cancer. The coverage indicates that she allegedly was uninsured at the time of diagnosis in March 2015 and “has been unable to work since and has incurred ‘significant’ medical expenses.”

Scott Ramsey, M.D., Ph.D., a health care economist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, is an expert in the “financial toxicity” associated with cancer treatment.

He has found that people diagnosed with cancer are two-and-a-half times more likely to declare bankruptcy than those without cancer. He estimates that up to 40 percent of cancer patients experience some form of financial hardship associated with their disease. According to Ramsey, global spending on cancer drugs is closing in on $100 billion, up from $71 billion in 2008.

Ramsey is also director of the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research at Fred Hutch, an initiative unique among U.S. cancer centers. He has published widely on patterns of care, costs, and cost-effectiveness of treatments for a variety of cancers.

He is available for interviews upon request.