Colon & Liver Cancer recent diagnosis & Insurance problems

nickie
nickie Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
My father is 60 years-old. Last week, he was diagnosed with colon cancer that also spread to his liver. I would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone with similar diagnosis.

Also, my father is presently employed and has Blue Cross insurance. If he is unable to work, does anyone know what steps he needs to take to make sure he continues to receive insurance coverage? He is too young for medicare. Does anyone know the qualifications for Social Security disability benefits?

Comments

  • allison
    allison Member Posts: 2
    #2
    My father was diagnosed in March with colon cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes and small intestine.He had surgery and the doctors say they got it all.he is now in his third month of chemo and is doing pretty well,just tired alot and some sores in his mouth that they say will go away in a few days.My dad is on medicare and a fixed income.So he has been left with about $10,000.worth of bills so far with 3 more moths of chemo to go and no coverage for his medicines.He doesn't qualify fro medicaid because he owns his home.(So if your getting older in this country your better off not to own anything.)I feel for your family.I wish I knew what to tell you but we don't know what to do about our own situation.Your dad should be eligable for disability.Call your local social security office or even your local cancer society they can tell you where to start.
  • hakki
    hakki Member Posts: 1
    #3
    My mother had the same too, in october. They sad we have to take surgery, but we didnot till May 24. It became dangerous, so we did.
    It has a slow progress..
    And i really would like to know insurance problem but im from turkey and dont know..
    Take care of yourselves..
  • natgretcin
    natgretcin Member Posts: 1
    #4
    my husband is 65 and diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in April. Had surgery and has just finished his first 9 weeks of 5-FU and Lucavorin (done in 4 minutes by butterfly catheter push so to speak. His tumors are responding to the chemo, so hang in there. As far as insurance goes, his company should have some kind of disability plan for him. Tell him to ask his company for a copy of the policy. If not, call Social Scurity and ask them what will qualify him for disability benefits. There is a web site for SS that you can submit questions.
  • cheriep2001
    cheriep2001 Member Posts: 2
    #5
    Hi. My dad too has colon cancer spread to liver (he's 56 and has been diagnosed for 1 year). My dad also had Trigon BC/BS insurance at work. Trigon has this program called temporary disability in which the person can be considered "temporarily disabled" for up to 26 weeks and draw a portion of his salary. After 26 weeks the person can return to work or whatever. What my dad did was this: he drew temporary disability from September 2000 - February 2001, and then he was able to go back to work after some chemo till July of this year. Since he had worked 90 days he was able to go back on temp. for 26 more weeks. He applied for SSD in July and will receive his first check (if he survives -- he's pretty bad right now) in January. Cancer is almost ALWAYS an automatic trigger for SS disability benefits. Have you tried that (it's been a while since your post and I'm new here). Any other questions e-mail me at cherie@inbox.net. Prayers to you!

Discussion Boards