Cancer patients are more than twice as likely to file for bankruptcy than people without cancer, according to a study of Washington state patients published in the May issue of Health Affairs.

Intraoperative lymphatic mapping provides surgeons, oncologists and referring physicians with vital information about potential malignancy in the lymphatic system, especially that of sentinel lymph nodes—usually the first check point for the diasporas of metastatic cancer cells that drain from primary tumors. Patients have a better chance of avoiding the increased morbidity associated with extensive nodal dissection by undergoing a biopsy of the sentinel lymph nodes most likely to contain metastatic disease.