WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Cancer was once assumed to be a death sentence because the disease was often incurable , but a new survey suggests the crisis for many today is paying for available treatments . High cost-sharing , caps on insurance benefits and policy limitations raise treament costs for people with insurance . `` It is a big surprise that 20 percent of people with health insurance ca n't afford to have the cancer therapy they need to save their lives , '' said John Seffrin of the American Cancer Society . The survey , jointly conducted by ACS and the Kaiser Family Foundation , includes 20 profiles of cancer patients and their struggles to find affordable medical coverage . The report was presented at a news conference Thursday , the same day U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had surgery for pancreatic cancer in New York . Ten-year-old Taylor Wilhite 's leukemia means cancer in her bones and blood . The cost of treatment and medicine since last March is now approaching the lifetime limit of $ 1 million from her father 's family health insurance plan . Fifty-eight-year-old Jamie Drzewicki is in remission from breast cancer after treatment and surgery . But she 's unable to pay endless bills left over when her $ 100,000 insurance policy ran out . She said the stress from that debt could kill her if she let it . `` I ca n't go on with the fear that I 'm gon na get cancer again , and have this stress every day , and I have to let it go , and try to pay what I can , '' she said . Seffrin , who has led the American Cancer Society for 17 years , said it is troubling that money , not medical science , may keep the disease a top concern for society . `` We can now begin to talk about eliminating cancer as a major public health problem in the United States early in this new century . If we can pay for it , '' he said . The survey , based in part on requests for financial assistance received by the American Cancer Society , found several consistent factors facing those who otherwise had medical insurance . They include high cost-sharing , where the cancer patient is responsible for some of the expense ; caps on insurance benefits that are far lower than what today 's cancer treatments can cost ; and limitations on policies when an employee becomes too sick to work . The report did not make recommendations , but Seffrin said the study of cancer patients should underscore the need for health care reform .
Paying for cancer treatment has become a barrier for many with the disease . 80 % of people with health insurance ca n't afford needed therapy . American Cancer Society : Study of need for health care coverage . CNN : ` ` Troubling that money , not medical care '' keeps cancer a top concern .