How can I get a social worker?

MichelleP
MichelleP Member Posts: 254
edited March 2014 in Caregivers #1
I need your advise please. My husband has stage 3 (possibly 4 depending of further testing). Our insurance company (an HMO) has denied home health care as well as a social worker. The woman I spoke with says he is capable of transporting himself to doctors etc. Our primary physician disagrees and well as myself. He is unable to walk more than 2 ft without assistance, he sleeps in a recliner chair and uses a bedside comode and is transported to chemo in a wheel chair. I would like some advise from you as to how I can obtain a social worker. I heard that they can assist with ins companies and provide direction for assistance. We currently live in the high desert of California and there is no assistance avail from the american cancer society or any senior centers. Can you advise anything at all for us?

God Bless
Michelle

Comments

  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #2
    Support
    Michelle,

    Have you tried the following?

    http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Support/

    This site is put up by the National Institute of Health or some such, and is government-supported. TereB has responded in other discussion areas with some excellent suggestions, and they may apply for you as well. I am taking the liberty of copying and pasting them as well:

    Cancer Care, a non-profit org., offers free support and counseling for cancer patients by oncology social workers. They have face-to-face counseling and counceling on the phone. Support groups on the phone are available too and are moderated by an oncology social worker. Call 800-813-HOPE. They can also give you info about financial resources. Check their website: www.cancercare.org

    Gilda's Club - www.gildasclub.org - they offer free social and emotional support. Not sure if they may have financial information but check it out just in case.

    Live Strong - www.livestrong.org - offers one-on-one support.

    I am hopeful that one of the above can help you with your efforts, Michelle.

    Best wishes.

    Take care,

    Joe
  • MichelleP
    MichelleP Member Posts: 254
    #3
    soccerfreaks said:

    Support
    Michelle,

    Have you tried the following?

    http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Support/

    This site is put up by the National Institute of Health or some such, and is government-supported. TereB has responded in other discussion areas with some excellent suggestions, and they may apply for you as well. I am taking the liberty of copying and pasting them as well:

    Cancer Care, a non-profit org., offers free support and counseling for cancer patients by oncology social workers. They have face-to-face counseling and counceling on the phone. Support groups on the phone are available too and are moderated by an oncology social worker. Call 800-813-HOPE. They can also give you info about financial resources. Check their website: www.cancercare.org

    Gilda's Club - www.gildasclub.org - they offer free social and emotional support. Not sure if they may have financial information but check it out just in case.

    Live Strong - www.livestrong.org - offers one-on-one support.

    I am hopeful that one of the above can help you with your efforts, Michelle.

    Best wishes.

    Take care,

    Joe

    Thanks Joe...I've had many
    Thanks Joe...I've had many others send me links and information as well. It will take some time, but I will indeed check each one out. I am currently a member of Cancer Care now and will be following their recommendations as well.

    I have decided that I will no longer beg for anything......from now on I shall be formally known as the "SteamRoller" and I have begun tape recording all conversations with the insurance company. I especially enjoyed one I had today when the woman told me I was mistaken about my husbands physical condition that he is perfectly fine and capable of driving himself to what ever doc he might need. (even though he can't walk more than 2 ft unattended). I wish I could have seen the look on her face when I told her the entire conversation had been recorded.

    Now.....I'm off to grab myself a very well deserved cold beer! Thanks for everything Joe....You are a wonderful and very helpful guy!
  • sally72
    sally72 Member Posts: 25
    #4
    try the back door ...
    cancer is extreamly stressfull . you may want to try a local counseling center for support and often they provide case management for help with life issues . they usually have slideing scales for income and copay ect . my sister is a case manager in a center in my state and i'm a cliant . so i'm aware of both sides

    counseling would help with support and someone to talk to about the pressures of a spouse with cancer
  • MichelleP
    MichelleP Member Posts: 254
    #5
    sally72 said:

    try the back door ...
    cancer is extreamly stressfull . you may want to try a local counseling center for support and often they provide case management for help with life issues . they usually have slideing scales for income and copay ect . my sister is a case manager in a center in my state and i'm a cliant . so i'm aware of both sides

    counseling would help with support and someone to talk to about the pressures of a spouse with cancer

    Sally
    I wish I could get emotional support but I am unable to leave my husband at anytime. The only time I leave the house is when I take him for chemo. You should see my hair :-O haven't had a hair cut in months....and I wish for a massage....lunch with a girlfriend maybe? Nice to type those things here even if I can't do it....feels better anyway! ha ha Gotta keep the humor right?
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #6
    MichelleP said:

    Thanks Joe...I've had many
    Thanks Joe...I've had many others send me links and information as well. It will take some time, but I will indeed check each one out. I am currently a member of Cancer Care now and will be following their recommendations as well.

    I have decided that I will no longer beg for anything......from now on I shall be formally known as the "SteamRoller" and I have begun tape recording all conversations with the insurance company. I especially enjoyed one I had today when the woman told me I was mistaken about my husbands physical condition that he is perfectly fine and capable of driving himself to what ever doc he might need. (even though he can't walk more than 2 ft unattended). I wish I could have seen the look on her face when I told her the entire conversation had been recorded.

    Now.....I'm off to grab myself a very well deserved cold beer! Thanks for everything Joe....You are a wonderful and very helpful guy!

    Steamroller
    Good for you, re the 'Steamroller' personna you are adopting. We have a couple of friends in the the insurance industry, and one of them was pivotal to me getting some of the more interesting aspects of treatment for my first bout with cancer covered.

    She pretty much suggested exactly what you are now doing: put THEM on the defensive, make THEM defend their positions. They are sitting in cubicles somewhere with absolutely no idea regarding your husband's condition, while you and his personal physician know it keenly.

    Trite but true: the squeaky wheel gets the grease!

    Take care,

    Joe
  • SonSon
    SonSon Member Posts: 174
    #7
    MichelleP said:

    Thanks Joe...I've had many
    Thanks Joe...I've had many others send me links and information as well. It will take some time, but I will indeed check each one out. I am currently a member of Cancer Care now and will be following their recommendations as well.

    I have decided that I will no longer beg for anything......from now on I shall be formally known as the "SteamRoller" and I have begun tape recording all conversations with the insurance company. I especially enjoyed one I had today when the woman told me I was mistaken about my husbands physical condition that he is perfectly fine and capable of driving himself to what ever doc he might need. (even though he can't walk more than 2 ft unattended). I wish I could have seen the look on her face when I told her the entire conversation had been recorded.

    Now.....I'm off to grab myself a very well deserved cold beer! Thanks for everything Joe....You are a wonderful and very helpful guy!

    It is a great idea to record the conversations you are having. But be careful. It is illegal to record the conversations without making the other party aware of it (in the beginning) and will be inadmissible in court if you have not notified the other party of the recording before beginning the conversation.
    Would not want to hear you in trouble over that or try to use it (I hope you would not need to) and find that it is totally useless to you.
    Fatima Thompson
  • SonSon
    SonSon Member Posts: 174
    #8
    MichelleP said:

    Sally
    I wish I could get emotional support but I am unable to leave my husband at anytime. The only time I leave the house is when I take him for chemo. You should see my hair :-O haven't had a hair cut in months....and I wish for a massage....lunch with a girlfriend maybe? Nice to type those things here even if I can't do it....feels better anyway! ha ha Gotta keep the humor right?

    Massage...
    Let your fingers do the walking - and look for your local school of massage. Most (if not all) have clinics where you can get a low cost massage (after all - they need the practice to graduate). Call them and see if they would be so kind to come to you!
    Same thing for getting your hair done - I have had beauticians come to my home to give me a cut and curl.
    Gotta take care of yourself somehow.
  • sue Siwek
    sue Siwek Member Posts: 279
    #9
    MichelleP said:

    Thanks Joe...I've had many
    Thanks Joe...I've had many others send me links and information as well. It will take some time, but I will indeed check each one out. I am currently a member of Cancer Care now and will be following their recommendations as well.

    I have decided that I will no longer beg for anything......from now on I shall be formally known as the "SteamRoller" and I have begun tape recording all conversations with the insurance company. I especially enjoyed one I had today when the woman told me I was mistaken about my husbands physical condition that he is perfectly fine and capable of driving himself to what ever doc he might need. (even though he can't walk more than 2 ft unattended). I wish I could have seen the look on her face when I told her the entire conversation had been recorded.

    Now.....I'm off to grab myself a very well deserved cold beer! Thanks for everything Joe....You are a wonderful and very helpful guy!

    good for you. if you don't
    good for you. if you don't ask you don't get. do not be passive with his or your care, if you are you will never get what you need. i have learned through the years to just push through, i am not a winie b---- just assertive and it works!
  • sue Siwek
    sue Siwek Member Posts: 279
    #10
    MichelleP said:

    Sally
    I wish I could get emotional support but I am unable to leave my husband at anytime. The only time I leave the house is when I take him for chemo. You should see my hair :-O haven't had a hair cut in months....and I wish for a massage....lunch with a girlfriend maybe? Nice to type those things here even if I can't do it....feels better anyway! ha ha Gotta keep the humor right?

    if you cannot afford or
    if you cannot afford or haven't family or friends to relive you ask the doctors and nurses at the hospital or treatment center. if you aren't getting that info you must look for a better hospital. i cannot stress enough that you should go to the nearest teaching hospital in you area. they will have the latest treatments and provide support for families, this is so important for his survival as well as yours.

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