money

mpatten
0 Recommendations

I was totally shocked that there were no entries in this category, am I the only one in these rooms that has been totally devastated financially by cancer. I went from making 200,000 + a year to making nothing. I have lost my house, moved two times, and can barley make enough money to eat,. I will probably have to move again because although my husband works, he is only making about $40,000 a yr of which the IRS is taking most of. Even before they were taking all but $400.00 a week of his paycheck we were still having a hard time making it. I find it really hard to believe that this subject is rarely talked about hear or in the media. It has been so hard to deal with the emotional side of cancer , (again something the media doesn’t talk about) but even harder dealing with the emotional side of feeling like a failure because I can no longer make this type of money and also because I didn't plan financially for this type of catastrophe.


Your Friend,
Michelle

19 replies

Happytobehere

Michelle, I also have cancer and no health insurance....Yes its a nightmare. I was one of those who just couldnt afford it. My husband is self employed, after having to retire from a major fire department after an accident. (thats another story)....We have 5 children and all we could afford was to cover them. Then I got the news....You have cancer.....I was 40 at the time....and I thought I was healthy. Never had to go to the doctor for anything before. No history of cancer in my family. I have struggled with what to do. I have been told to divorce my husband and move out with one of the kids, then the state would cover me. Crazy how our system works. I said I could never do that...........But now since all of the bills have been rolling in..... I have thought about it but havent done it. My credit is shot to hell since most of these places expect you to remember to send payment with no monthly reminder of any sort. Even if I could remember I couldnt afford to send them what they want. I have tried to keep up with everyone, but its overwhelming....anyway I can go on and on.............The media doesnt care about us, our name isnt brinttany spears.....I am so sick of hearing about all the stupid crap she does WHO CARES??? Let report on something more important in life Not some stupid ungrateful little brat.. Ok I am climbing off of my soap box. Terri

Sweetie1
  • By Sweetie1
  • Posted November 18, 2007 at 10:38 am

Michelle and Terri,
I understand how you feel. I have Stage 4 colon cancer with mets to both lungs. I have been dealing with cancer for 2 1/2 years. When I had the first round of chemo which lasted 8 months I had to quit my job. I worked in a nursing home. As soon as I was finished with chemo I started trying to find work which I finally did after about 3 months. Six months after I started my new job I found out the cancer was in my lungs. I was lucky this time because I have been able to continue working except for when I have chemo. We have insurance through my husband's workplace. What a nightmare! It's a constant battle with them. Sometimes they will approve something such as a PET scan or whatever and then after I have the scan they will deny the claim. My heart has been damaged from the chemo drugs. About 2 weeks ago my husband took me to the hospital with a pulse rate of 220. They brought in the crash cart and have to give me medicine twice to get my heart rate slowed down. They kept me in the hospital overnight because I stablized rather quickly. Later that week we received a letter from the insurance company. They denied the claim. Their reasons were that I was in the hospital less that 23 hours and a more invasive treatment should have been sought! It was almost like they were sorry that I didn't die. My husband has had to borrow from his 401K which has to be repaid. They check that out of his paycheck which means less money he brings home. We've had our hours cut back where I work. Sometimes I only get 20 hours a week. We are to the point where we just don't know what to do or which way to turn. I cannot afford the nausea medicine that my doctor wanted to give me. My part is $176 and that is for 3 pills! Is there any help for people like us? You are so right about there not being attention in the media about this. Like you said, who cares about those celebrity brats? It's really hard not to be bitter sometimes. You know like when you see people on TV that can spend $23,000 for a flower vase! It's stressful enough when you are fighting for your life without have to deal with all these money problems.
Good luck to both of you,
Jana

LaGata
  • By LaGata
  • Posted November 18, 2007 at 11:39 am

I never thought I'd be in a position to be thankful that I'm poor but since my cancer diagnosis, I am thankful. Sounds strange, doesn't it? I'm considered self-employed because I take whatever little job I can get for however long it takes and usually at whatever they're willing to pay. Most of the time it's not too bad, it's just not often enough to make a real living. I juggle about 6 different little jobs including one long term part-time job. My husband does not work and has no income. (Don't go there...)

I like what I do, I've learned to live on very little compared to what others make and it gave me the freedom to work my schedule around surgery and treatments but when I was diagnosed my first thought was that I'd have to die because there was no way I could afford treatments.

Almost every detail of my life had to be viewed under a microscope to qualify for the help I'm receiving but life is worth it and I realized that it was necessary. I will continue to qualify as long as I'm on one particular pill but there will be an end. What then? I have no idea. There are insurance companies that claim they will take me but the cancer will be excluded and the premiums would be almost half of what I make in a month. This is not an option.

I never thought I'd be a proponent of universal health care but at this point in time and after listening to so many stories about how illness has racked so many families, I've started to look into the proposals that have been offered by various candidates for office. I'm still leary of quite a few but something has to be done on a major scale. The effects of most plans would devastate the medical community in the short term but eventually something would have to work out.

In the meantime, all we can do is the best we can, whatever it is, but I for one am doing whatever I can to get word to the political "heap" and hope the candidates listen to our stories. Please join me in sending letters (email is not acceptable) to the major candidates and tell our stories. If enough of us do this, someone will listen and hopefully take action. They need to know that it's people of every walk of life, every economic level, every part of the country that are financially devastated by disease and sometimes even if they have private insurance already in place.

If there's anyone out there that can provide information or suggestions as to how we get through for the time being, please speak up and post on this site. There are too many of us in situations like this and we need help!

mpatten
  • By mpatten
  • Posted November 18, 2007 at 2:25 pm

Here are a couple of agencies that may be able to help I will add more later

Cancer Care
www.cancercare.org
CancerCare provides professional support services—including counseling, education, financial assistance and practical help—free to people with cancer, their loved ones, bereaved family members, and health care professionals.

American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org

rmead
  • By rmead
  • Posted November 18, 2007 at 3:10 pm

Hi Terri

Here in Aussie land I agree with your thinking about B spears, there is more important things to look at like finding and helping families who someone in the family has cancer.I have prostate cancer and here it seems that breast cancer is looked at more (not that I am having a dig about breast cancer) I feel for anyone who has any type of cancer, I thought I would finish up with some type (cancer) as all who have passed on in my family have had it. Nice to see your message and hang in there maybe all the organizations in America who if combined could do something about the lack of help for people having cancer. All the best.

Bob Mead

stargazerlily17

Greetings from Maine Michelle, here in Maine, if you are a somali or from some other third world nation and you are coy enough to move to Maine, you can have all the free medical care you want and when you visit any dhs office our socialist gov has demanded that NO questions be asked of anyone esp illegals (undocumented is PC label) for any ID, so they receive a "mainecard" for their medical expenses including the 14 carat "gold" nausea pill, food stamps, rent vouchers and welfare, not a bad deal for a non-citizen who hates this country heh? The rest of us have to sink or swim on our own. My husband works 2 jobs to keep up with expenses. I feel your pain. I will keep you and everyone who finds themselves in the same boat in my prayers. Shalom, Lily

Jima
  • By Jima
  • Posted November 19, 2007 at 9:36 am

LaGata,

Being diagnosed with any form of cancer is a terrible thing. It is also a terrible thing that one does not plan for these types of catastrophies. Having medical insurance of some kind is one way of planning for such things.
Working for yourself, being a handyman or whatever gives one certain freedoms that working for a company or small firm does not. It also puts the burden of making sure that you, and your family, are covered with adequate medical insurance. These are the choices that one makes in life and they can have far reaching consequences.
Were it not for being insured, I would most likely be in your shoes now. In my family one of us, my wife or myself, has always had medical insurance. It is playing Russian roulette with your financial well being not to. Yes, it can be a significant sum per month but so can treatment for a devastating disease like cancer.
Because I was covered by insurance where I work and my wife, as a retired educator, opted to maintain family coverage in her retirement, we were never out more than the co-payment. My expectation is not and never has been that 'the government' or anyone else should be responsible for my health care.
Your's is a difficult situation and there are no easy answers. I wish you well in your struggle with this terrible disease.

Jima

LaGata
  • By LaGata
  • Posted November 19, 2007 at 10:38 am

Jima,

It was never my intention that the government or anyone else be responsible for my health care. Without going into bare details of how I ended up in the situation of being dependant, suffice it to say that "things happen". Sometimes awful things.

I'm 60 years old and wasn't able to get my high school diploma until the year 2000. No family for support save a physically abusive husband for 25 years, a son with problems who died in 2003, being without an education or work experience, except for a part-time job working piece rate from my home, which put me in the self-employed category, until 1990, then having my first bout with cancer, made me less than an ideal potential employee, so I did what I could to survive. Incidentally, I paid in full for the first cancer bout and to bury my husband when he died in 1989.

I am not just a handyman. I am a well respected person in the trades that I work. There just isn't enough of the types of work I do to make more than what I do and paying half of my income for premiums, when I need to keep a roof overhead, is not an option.

You are fortunate in more ways than you realize. You have a good education, a loving family, a career. There are those of us who don't fit any of those parameters. But I do the best jobs that I can, work in my community to make things better, I help others that are just starting into this long tunnel of cancer treatments, and do what I can for anyone that needs help.

I envy your family, your position, your retirement, your insurance but I'm afraid that's all I can do, at this point in my life, is envy and keep doing the best that I possibly can.

jrzgrls
  • By jrzgrls
  • Posted November 20, 2007 at 3:27 pm

Have you applied for social security/disability? If you recieve SSI you are eligible for Medicaire. Are you aware of these programs?

kconchshell

Hi Michelle,

I feel your pain and frustration on the money issue. Wierd, we don't talk much about it. I'm on my own and if I stop working I'll be homeless, not so good while going through chemo, which I am-again. I had little $ to begin with and no husband to help out, and that made it easier to get into some programs, healthfirst, low income insurance. I know, it's awful to sit in those waiting rooms for hours. Having to prove my illness to others was degrading, but without it I'd be dead and my whole family would be in debt forever. If I'd had my FT job, the insurance would hardly had covered the pre-op costs. That's where I feel it's most unfair to you and all hard working folks. I sit next to crazy crack addicts in the SSI office who won't work and just get more angry at the whole system. The bills are phenominal, pharmaceutical companies are at the top of the list. There's no need to charge thousands for the medications they provide.
So, be angry, it's unfair and adds insult to our injuries. Just don't hang on too long to that anger, it's not worth it. You'll make it through, there are programs out there to help, just takes alot of patience. I wish you the best of luck. Breathe deeply.
Be well,

Kelly

Suzanne5
  • By Suzanne5
  • Posted November 21, 2007 at 2:09 pm

Hi Everyone,
I just have to say how thankful I am that I have insurance or I too would be in the same situation as all of you. In a little over 4 years my medical care has used 500,000.00 of my 3 million max on my insurance plan. My monthly drug bill is over 6000.00 which is far above my salary. My cancer, myeloma, will require on-going treatment for the remainder of my life. I was unable to qualify for disability because I am still working. Disability requires that you be UNABLE to work for a year to qualify. I have to continue working to keep the insurance that allows me to stay alive. In addition, once you do qualify for disability you have to be on it for 2 years before you qualify for medicare. I totally agree that the system is broken. Geraldine Ferraro is working on a fix for us, she too has myeloma.

In the meantime, the drug companies have programs for people who are uninsured or having financial difficulty...many will provide the drugs for free. And please, ask your doctors for samples, that's why they get them. I will try to look up the financial resources that I have found over the past few years and post them here in an attempt to help.

I wish you all well and you are in my prayers,
Suzanne

Eve
  • By Eve
  • Posted November 21, 2007 at 5:22 pm

So many people get caught between the cracks. Earning too much for Medicaid but not enough to afford to pay med. bills on their own. Although I am stage 4 (bones, intestinal lining and stomach (as well as breast)-Avastin was denied for me by Medicare but I saw a woman (sure not the only case) that Medicaid paid the treatments for. At $10,000 a treatment-there is no way we could do it on our own. We do have supplemental ins. as well as Medicare but if Medicare refuses to pay so does the supplementals. I am grateful for the 40+ yrs. my husband worked so we could have some ins. It is hard enough fighting cancer without losing everything because of the bills.

Suzanne5
  • By Suzanne5
  • Posted November 21, 2007 at 10:19 pm

Eve,
The way the medical system works is completely off balance. I have been managing an ear, nose & throat practice for the past 13 years...so I know first hand. And ironically I worked a Hospice wing at a nursing home for 7 years prior to that. There is no rhyme or reason to this system. I think the cost of our drugs are so high because they know we will pay it if we can just to stay alive. I was diagnosed when I was 40, I am now 45. I'm sure I will run out of my insurance benefits (lifetime max) long before i'm dead. ha ha

I'm not sure if you are on Avastin now, or were just unable to afford it...but here is the patient assistance site.....they may be able to help you since medicare/supplemental does not cover the drug. I hope this helps.. : ) Suzanne

The Genentech® Access To Care Foundation (GATCF)
Although Genentech's products are covered by most government and private insurance, Genentech has established the Genentech Access to Care Foundation. We are committed to eligible patients having access to all of our drugs for approved indications.

For consideration of eligibility for resources from the Genentech Access to Care Foundation, the patient must not be eligible for public or private insurance reimbursement and must meet income restrictions. For eligible patients who are treated in the United States, Genentech will provide product to those who cannot afford to pay because we believe it is the right thing to do.

Contact GATCF to learn more.

GATCF Online:
Avastin patient site: http://www.avastin.com/avastin/patient/crc/reimbursement/index.m

GATCF Support Line:
1-800-530-3083

LaGata
  • By LaGata
  • Posted November 22, 2007 at 10:43 am

jrzqrls,

I had to apply for SSI to qualify for Medicaid. They said I would be eligible for $600 per month. My house payment is $642, and that's lower than rent, then there's untility bills and groceries. How do people live on $600 per month income??? I told them I'd have to be a lot worse off for a much longer time to go that route. I do hope it never gets that bad!

nundanesbitt

Hi,

This is my first post at this site, though I spent hours on the John Hopkins Pancreatic cancer page and Care Pages and totally feel the help that comes from these sites. My Money issue is different than what I have read here, but along many lines. My husband was diagnosed at age 45 and did not make his 47th birthday......now the twist here is that he had worked for NYS for 15 years and had never called in sick...thank you to all the tax payers who provied this service as we collected full paychecks throughout his entire treatment. We also had Blue Choice,which denied him nothing.....at the time of his illness we were paying 134.00 per month for a family plan, we had three minor children at the time. CSEA allowed me to keep this rate for 18 months after his death. Now, the real kick in the ass......After the COBRA ended, Blue Choice offered me the exact plan we had had for over 15 years for 2,400.00 per month!!!!!! Gee, do you think they are trying to get anything back from me??????? So, for the first time in my 49 years, I do not have health insurance and would be terrified of the same thing happening to me at this point.....the insurance game is just that, a game and a scam.... but it also sucks for the kids....if anything happened to them I would be in big trouble. We are living on Social Security survivor benefits which isn't really bad if you don;t drive a car.....but make too much for any help with insurance and food.....obvisouly they don;t feed real growing boys at the cost of living department!!!!! Any how, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who may read this.... this may sound like a downer, but this is hard for us becasue in our case the Dr.'s told us to enjoy Thanksgiving and pray for Christmas....he died January 8th, 2006.

Time heals all wounds and so does keeping him alive for the children and myself. We have done well, oldest son in a good 4 year private school, a sophomore on the honor roll and a sweet little girl who at 12 is still struggling to not be daddy's girl....we are all moving ahead and still include cancer patients in our prayers and keep them on our heroes list..... My husband was the bravest man on earth during this 23 months and he never let it keep him from anything our kids did......and as you pancreatic people know, it is not a pretty anything. People would tell me how wonderful I was doing and I was always like....My God, I am merely watching...... But I do understand that being a caretaker can make or break the way a person leaves... Doing the best to keep laughing and take it one day at a time and be open was the key to making this work. We lived off of a queen sized bed in the middle of the livingroom and ate and laughed and cried all together......there were no regrets. And the most rewarding of all things? Right before my husband died (after a particualry painful and morphine filled day) he smiled and was clear and he took off his wedding rings (ours and pretend ones from the hospital gift shop where our kids bought them for us when we had our wedding vows renewed.....anyway, he took those off and moments later clearly stated and saw his brother who had predeceased him by 20 years..........and then it was over.....and here it is close to 2 years later and right now it seems just like yesterday......Prayer and faith too, we had people all over praying for us!!!!!! In out tiny town all of the Churches gave to us, not just ours....it was an incredible feeling of comfort. My husband had pretty much coached every sport and the boys are awesome athletes. My oldest is a soccer player at Alfred U.....plus I worked in the Kindergarten and with three kids, three years apart in the school system, we were very well known........I could go on for hours and never cover all the niceties that happened. I know I have written a ton here, but this is the exact example of how good people were to us.....a day after he died a friend of my sons mother called and was so funny in trying to explain why (a family thing!) she had 4 caskets in her basement, but she did and they were 20,000 and she wanted to give me one.....we had already had my husband cremated, but her offer was sooo kind......and tragically her daughter was seriously injured and her best friend killed in a car crash just days after this. So two weeks after the funeral for his father my son was a pall bearer in one of his best friends funerals......tragic, but how it made this class come together was amazing...I should add that there was also a suicide of a dad,a heart attack of a dad, one girl diagnosed with leukemia and house burnt to the ground Christmas Day.......out of a class of 70, this was really major.....Well...I have to go and feed these kids of mine...thanks for letting me get this off my chest and good luck to all of you who are fighting the money game......never ending battle.

Yvonne875
  • By Yvonne875
  • Posted November 22, 2007 at 1:29 pm

I was diagnoised with breast cancer with metastatses to the bone, pelvic area and lower spine in 12/05. I also did my mammograms when I was suppose to, so I was shocked beyond belief . I did not know and that I would be wiped financially and with no medical coverage it has been stress on top of stress. I recieve SSD, so my finances are limited. I know and feel exactly what we are talking about. I would like to know if there are any financial and/or medical agencies that are geared to these situations that can release this stress factor. I am trying and believe I am coping with the grace of God and my families support.

Yvonne

PattiB
  • By PattiB
  • Posted March 25, 2008 at 9:00 pm

I hate hearing of all the responders financial troubles, but I am so relieved to know I'm not the only one!

I'm by myself, had insurance, but they were cutting benefits left and right and upping fees and I was falling to part time with chemos, so no longer qualified.

I got SSI for a few months while waiting for disability insurance (that we WORKED FOR!) and had to accept the state's Medicaid insurance and even food stamps just to get by. Then, 6 months and I get my first SSDI check.../ and find out that I no longer qualify for ANY medical insurance whatsoever; no food stamps, absolutely NOTHING. I "make" too much money (In AZ it's $200 too much per YEAR).

So, as of April 1st I am SOL. I don't have a spouse or family with money. I've gone everywhere and done everything possible.

The tricky bit is that you can get on SSDI disability pretty easily with stage IV cancers and most "incurable cancers" BUT you have to BE on SSDI for TWO YEARS before you can get Medicare. How many of us with bad prognosis's will last that long without treatment?

Someone mentioned the ACS and another organization, but they were able to help me with a huge $150. when I was two months behind in rent.

Fortunately my landlords were willing to wait until that first disability check came last month, or I would have been out in the streets in Feb. Such fun, and cancer? second opinions? support? ya, right.

li47
  • By li47
  • Posted March 27, 2008 at 9:51 am

I live in Portugal,one of the most poor contry in Europe Union.Becouse of that , when I got ill, I was very afraid that my country could not respond on technology for treatements that I would need.I thank God I was wrong! Since 1999, I have received all the treatments that I need to survive (radiotherapy,Tomaxifeno,Zoladex,Femara,Zometa,scans ,etc.) for free!How come that you have all thouse difficulties, living in the U.S?!! I´m shock!I feel so fortunate!

gimpys1
  • By gimpys1
  • Posted March 27, 2008 at 11:45 am

Michelle, I know that many of us are severely affected by the financial side of cancer diagnosis and treatment. I have been, also, and the main reason I have not written here is that I feel as though I am calling out in a bell jar and nobody hears or cares. My story is too long to post, but my diagnosis and treatment in 2001 are still carrying heavy financial, health and personal tolls as of this date, and none are due to recurrence! Things we don't know going into this that can virtually destroy our lifestyles (and mine was already extremely modest prior to diagnosis) are things that we can't take the time to study up on because we want cancer OUT of us right away. And that is the first priority, of course. If you find of any groups or readings to assist with this, please post, as I have reached dead ends and don't know where to turn. Have even tried the "higher ups" and been stone-walled. I am so glad that you posted! Good luck and good health to you and, please, we will both post back if anything comes to light, okay?

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