Need Help - Please?

Hi, my name is Melinda and my mother (age 72) was diognosed with cancer 2 years ago.  I just use cancer because it started in her uterus and spread to her colon and is pretty much everywhere in abdomen (including specks in her liver).  When it was discovered 2 years ago it had already incased her colon and they had to remove the colon and had to have a colopstopcy (I don't know the spelling, but it's a bag on the outside of her stomach that attaches to a opening in her stomach to what's left of her colon).  She was given 3 months to live at that time.  2 years later now she has been fighting the cancer with chemotherapy and still maintaining her job which is the reason why I am posting this message.  Normally my mom weighs 135-140 lbs. she now weighs 95 lbs. She is very weak but is forced to continue to work because if she doesn't work she will have no insurance to pay for her chemotherapy and her blood work and without that will probably die almost immediately.  She was not working for the whole month of December, 2007 because of complications.  Those complications are gone now and now she's returned to work. She works 10-11 hour days, 5 days a week and her employer is now saying all employees must work 6 days a week for awhile.  She barely gets rested after working 5 days and she knows she cannot work 6 days - she will die of exhaustion.  This job is really helping her to die faster but with out insurance it will be even faster. 

Is there anything a person at this age can do to continue her treatments without insurance.  By the way, my mom lives in Tennessee where she can't even get on the State's insurance program.  Please, if anyone knows how my mom can quit work but continue treatment - I beg of you to let me know or give me some advice.  This is tearing me up and I I am a single mom and can't afford to pay her insurance if she quits working.  Help!!

 

On 1/25/2008 MelindaKay wrote:

Hi, my name is Melinda and my mother (age 72) was diognosed with cancer 2 years ago.  I just use cancer because it started in her uterus and spread to her colon and is pretty much everywhere in abdomen (including specks in her liver).  When it was discovered 2 years ago it had already incased her colon and they had to remove the colon and had to have a colopstopcy (I don't know the spelling, but it's a bag on the outside of her stomach that attaches to a opening in her stomach to what's left of her colon).  She was given 3 months to live at that time.  2 years later now she has been fighting the cancer with chemotherapy and still maintaining her job which is the reason why I am posting this message.  Normally my mom weighs 135-140 lbs. she now weighs 95 lbs. She is very weak but is forced to continue to work because if she doesn't work she will have no insurance to pay for her chemotherapy and her blood work and without that will probably die almost immediately.  She was not working for the whole month of December, 2007 because of complications.  Those complications are gone now and now she's returned to work. She works 10-11 hour days, 5 days a week and her employer is now saying all employees must work 6 days a week for awhile.  She barely gets rested after working 5 days and she knows she cannot work 6 days - she will die of exhaustion.  This job is really helping her to die faster but with out insurance it will be even faster. 

Is there anything a person at this age can do to continue her treatments without insurance.  By the way, my mom lives in Tennessee where she can't even get on the State's insurance program.  Please, if anyone knows how my mom can quit work but continue treatment - I beg of you to let me know or give me some advice.  This is tearing me up and I I am a single mom and can't afford to pay her insurance if she quits working.  Help!!

I live in New York and my parents (72 & 74) are collecting Social Security and are covered under the Medicare program (this is Federal not State). She needs to go to her Social Security office and apply for benefits. If she is and has been working she should be eligible. You should also speak to her doctors and the people in his office who handle the insurance claims. They should be able to help  on this.  I am 53 and have Ovarian cancer and was approved for Social Security Benefits in April.

Best of luck to you and of course your Mom.

Diane T

 

On 1/26/2008 Diane t. wrote:

 

On 1/25/2008 MelindaKay wrote:

Hi, my name is Melinda and my mother (age 72) was diognosed with cancer 2 years ago.  I just use cancer because it started in her uterus and spread to her colon and is pretty much everywhere in abdomen (including specks in her liver).  When it was discovered 2 years ago it had already incased her colon and they had to remove the colon and had to have a colopstopcy (I don't know the spelling, but it's a bag on the outside of her stomach that attaches to a opening in her stomach to what's left of her colon).  She was given 3 months to live at that time.  2 years later now she has been fighting the cancer with chemotherapy and still maintaining her job which is the reason why I am posting this message.  Normally my mom weighs 135-140 lbs. she now weighs 95 lbs. She is very weak but is forced to continue to work because if she doesn't work she will have no insurance to pay for her chemotherapy and her blood work and without that will probably die almost immediately.  She was not working for the whole month of December, 2007 because of complications.  Those complications are gone now and now she's returned to work. She works 10-11 hour days, 5 days a week and her employer is now saying all employees must work 6 days a week for awhile.  She barely gets rested after working 5 days and she knows she cannot work 6 days - she will die of exhaustion.  This job is really helping her to die faster but with out insurance it will be even faster. 

Is there anything a person at this age can do to continue her treatments without insurance.  By the way, my mom lives in Tennessee where she can't even get on the State's insurance program.  Please, if anyone knows how my mom can quit work but continue treatment - I beg of you to let me know or give me some advice.  This is tearing me up and I I am a single mom and can't afford to pay her insurance if she quits working.  Help!!

I live in New York and my parents (72 & 74) are collecting Social Security and are covered under the Medicare program (this is Federal not State). She needs to go to her Social Security office and apply for benefits. If she is and has been working she should be eligible. You should also speak to her doctors and the people in his office who handle the insurance claims. They should be able to help  on this.  I am 53 and have Ovarian cancer and was approved for Social Security Benefits in April.

Best of luck to you and of course your Mom.

Diane T

 

My name is sandy, I have been diagnoised with lung cancer, and spot on my liver and was operated on left arm for a tumor that was removed and metal pins and mesh was replaced in my bone to stablize my arm. I,m only 51 yrs. old and I recieve maine care and medicare that has paid for my treatments.  At your moms age she should of already been recieving social security benefits, your eligible at the age of 65.  I'm still in the process of trying to recieve s.s disablity it just a long process. They should , if you ask at the s.s office for a rush on the medical part and they should be able to accomadate her because its a urgent situation.

 

On 1/25/2008 MelindaKay wrote:

Hi, my name is Melinda and my mother (age 72) was diognosed with
cancer 2 years ago.  I just use cancer because it started in her
uterus and spread to her colon and is pretty much everywhere in abdomen
(including specks in her liver).  When it was discovered 2 years
ago it had already incased her colon and they had to remove the colon
and had to have a colopstopcy (I don't know the spelling, but it's a
bag on the outside of her stomach that attaches to a opening in her
stomach to what's left of her colon).  She was given 3 months to
live at that time.  2 years later now she has been fighting the
cancer with chemotherapy and still maintaining her job which is the
reason why I am posting this message.  Normally my mom weighs
135-140 lbs. she now weighs 95 lbs. She is very weak but is forced to
continue to work because if she doesn't work she will have no insurance
to pay for her chemotherapy and her blood work and without that will
probably die almost immediately.  She was not working for the
whole month of December, 2007 because of complications.  Those
complications are gone now and now she's returned to work. She works
10-11 hour days, 5 days a week and her employer is now saying all
employees must work 6 days a week for awhile.  She barely
gets rested after working 5 days and she knows she cannot work 6 days -
she will die of exhaustion.  This job is really helping her to die
faster but with out insurance it will be even faster. 

Is
there anything a person at this age can do to continue her treatments
without insurance.  By the way, my mom lives in Tennessee where
she can't even get on the State's insurance program.  Please, if
anyone knows how my mom can quit work but continue treatment - I beg of
you to let me know or give me some advice.  This is tearing me up
and I I am a single mom and can't afford to pay her insurance if she
quits working.  Help!!

Contact
the state of Tennessee, the Federal government, senior groups, cancer
society,talk with her doctors, etc..Keep calling people and asking for
the answers and help your mother need. Good Luck!

 

Thank you for your reply - everyone tells her social securtiy income is too high.  Makes alot of sense - not!  So if she quits work she can not afford to live on the social security and pay for medical insurance.   I don't know anymore.  But thank you again.

Hi Sandy,

 I am so sorry to hear of your illness.  It sometimes seem hard to believe that a person can be as young as you and still end up with something like that.  But reality is - It can happen to any of us at any time and when we are healthy we never see it as something that could happen out of the clear blue.  But it does - it can strike anywhere.

Thanks for you reply on my mom.  She is recieving my deceased dad's social security benefits and working the full time job.  She tells me that should she quit work (of course thta would end her work insurance - thus the need for Medicare), she still would not be eligible for Medicare becuase her social security benefits are too high. My mom says there's no way she can live on her social security and pay 3, 4 or 5 hundred dollars a month in medical insurance - thus the reason why she's still forced to work. 

 I just don't know.  She's in Tennessee and I live in California so it's difficult to know what to do.  In addition, my mon is very personnal and doesn't like to divuldge private info.. (ie. - how much social security does she make - my question) to anyone. She trust no one. 

So I have a few challeges to overcome prior to know how to help.

 Thank you so much, and the best of luck to you. 

 P;S. - Since my mom has been forced to go back to work after a 2 week down time (due to chemo therapy and flu) she is working 12 hour days and basically I can tell she sounds a lot better and she's not all out of breath when she answers the phone.  Lance Armstrong continued is bicycling and he beat all odds!  Anyway, I just wanted to share that with - because I truly believe excersies do a body great!  (course I am not one to speak of excersing - I have a teadmill, etc. and just don't apply myself.