Coping with financial difficulties of cancer diagnosis of loved one

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Cara

I've been lucky with the financial burdens of cancer so far, but the cancer centers I've dealt with for my parents and husband all have had counselors who offered to help.  In many cases, there are charities that can help with at least some of the expenses.  My best advice would be to check out these resources.  I've even had the oncologist himself talk to me about costs for some of my husband's medications.  If the oncologist/cancer center treating your husband can't help, there are some national resources as well.  In fact, this website has a number of resources that you might find helpful.  I'm new and still learning, but it looks like the Member Resources Library link on the left has some helpful items and services.  And if you click on the Support Programs link in the blue on the left, there is another link there regarding paying for treatment.  At the bottom of the page, there is a link for a cancer navigator service.  Call and talk to them.  I'll bet they know about a lot of resources that are available. 

Hope you find the help you need!

WV_Farmgirl

sishelpr said:

Thank you so much! The

Thank you so much! The hospital does have a social worker. However so far all she has done is give my brother a list of resources. Similar to what is here. He is so overwhelmed by the stress of chemo and the situation he can't really deal with contacting so many different organizations. 

But I am going to do my best to help me with part of the proces. I will ask him to speak to his oncologist to see if he can help. And give us a better idea about costs. 

Your Role

Sishelpr

You may very well find that your role as caregiver includes handling things that aren't specifically about your brother's sickness -- like helping with his finances.  In most cases, a caregiver can contact these resources to get assistance for the ill patient.  You may need legal paperwork if the help involves details of his health information or access to things like his bank accounts.  Also, when you talk to the social worker (or anyone else), be as specific as possible about what assistance you need.  While you want to be open to hear what help is available, you also want to clearly define your problems.  The social worker might not be able to suggest anything in response to "it's all overwhelming" but can help if you say "my brother is too tired to clean his house" or "he needs a ride to chemo on Wednesday." 

If either you or he has a good support network, you can use a website like Lotsa Helping Hands to request and coordinate help.  I used website when my husband went through his stem cell transplant (18 days in the hospital followed by 100 days of isolation).  When someone makes a general offer of help, it is hard to know what you should ask them to do...did they mean they'd be willing to grab a gallon of milk for you when they went to the grocery store or did they mean they would mow the lawn or did they mean that they would be willing to wash the chemo-poop from the bedsheets?  The website let them see what was needed and choose how to help.

Hopefully someone with more experience will post about helping with the actual costs of treatment.

WV_Farmgirl