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