A growing number of cancer survivors are turning to crowdfunding to help cover treatment costs and basic living expenses, but most are coming up short. A new study published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network reviewed more than 78,000 cancer related GoFundMe campaigns created between January 2021 and February 2023 and found that only about one in nine campaigns reached its fundraising goal.
Researchers used artificial intelligence to analyze campaign stories and then gathered 90-day donation records for each effort. Across roughly 4.5 million individual donations, about $506 million was raised. That sounds like a big number, but it represented less than 35% of the total amount requested. Combined fundraising goals across all campaigns reached nearly $1.5 billion.
The median goal was $10,000 and the median amount raised was $4,000. In other words, half of the campaigns received less than 40% of what they requested. After 90 days, fewer than 12% had fully met their goals.
Researchers also noted that cancer-related crowdfunding represents a very small slice of overall financial burden for this population. Based on national estimates, the total raised amounted to less than 5% of annual out-of-pocket cancer costs in the United States.
A few trends emerged from the analysis. Campaigns tied to pancreatic, blood, and brain cancers tended to raise the most money. These are not the cancers diagnosed most often, but they are among the most expensive to treat. Most donations came in within the first 30 days a campaign was active. And while millions of dollars were donated, even successful campaigns often covered only a portion of the patient’s overall needs.
Researchers also pointed out the broader context. Roughly 12% of cancer survivors in the United States live in poverty, and many report cutting spending on food, clothing, and other essentials due to medical bills. The study emphasized that only a small share of the more than 18 million cancer survivors in the country use crowdfunding, suggesting many may not have the access or comfort needed to pursue it.
The findings paint a detailed picture of how much financial strain cancer survivors face and how limited crowdfunding can be in filling the gap.
