Prof. Okunade Quoted in Murfreesboro Newspaper on the Cost of Cancer

Professor Albert Okunade (First Tennessee Professor of Economics) was quoted in the Murfressboro Daily News Journal on the cost of cancer to the State of Tennessee.  The passage from the article reads:

"University of Memphis health economist Albert Okunade specializes in putting a price tag on death, and cancer's bill in Tennessee has been steep — an estimated $1.9 billion in direct costs for diagnosis and treatment this year alone.

Okunade estimates indirect costs at 30 percent of that figure, although specific data aren't available for a formula. The components include lost wages and what cancer patients may have contributed in volunteer work or services to their families that someone else now must perform.

"People who are less educated, less informed about health risks die more quickly and more of them die," he said. "That's telling me, if we put more money into public health information, I believe we might succeed in reducing the mortality rate for cancer."

For the complete article, go to:
http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200911150300/NEWS01/911150333