Treatment Seeking Behavior, Treatment Cost and Quality of Life of Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study from South India.

The majority of the patients were diagnosed in the regional cancer center, JIPMER although their preferred first point of contact was private practitioners. The average time interval from diagnosis to treatment initiation was more than two months. The expenditure during the treatment was mainly because of indirect cost and wage loss. The functional quality of life was severely impaired for the majority of the cases.