Let a Philadelphia Cancer Attorney Help You with Disability Insurance Benefits
One in every two men and one in three women in the United States are at risk of developing cancer in their lifetime. Despite these statistics, cancer can be a shocking diagnosis. Physicians who routinely treat the ailments of others do not expect to be on the receiving end of a cancer diagnosis. Cancer treatments and recovery can become all-consuming, and medical careers are put on the line. A skilled cancer attorney at Seltzer and Associates understands that pursuing disability insurance benefits should be the least of your concerns.
If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, you know firsthand the impact it can have on you and your family. From the physical to the emotional, to the financial impact, being diagnosed with and battling cancer can be overwhelming. For many people, cancer and the necessary treatment can be disabling. You do not need to face this alone. Seltzer & Associates has assisted many clients suffering from all types of cancer with disability insurance claims.
Our Philadelphia cancer disability attorneys help you focus on restoring your health while we take care of addressing your disability claim and the financial burden you suffer as a result of a disability. We work with clients and disability insurance companies nationwide.
Cancer Statistics
The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be over 1.9 million new diagnoses of cancer in 2022. While this number is staggering, the good news is that cancer is being detected earlier and treatments are successfully saving lives. The good news is that with modern medicine, the death rates from multiple forms of cancer have been trending down in the last several decades. However, cancer treatments and recovery can significantly impair a cancer patient’s quality of life and ability to work. Unfortunately, medical professionals are not exempt from this suffering.
Some of the more common cancer diagnoses are:
- Breast cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Lung and bronchus cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Melanoma
These five types of cancer are estimated to have a combined total of over 1 million new diagnoses in 2022.
How is Cancer Treated?
Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are the most common types of cancer treatment. Treatment protocols may depend on the type and stage of cancer diagnosed. If cancer requires surgery, you may need significant time to recover.
Chemotherapy and radiation can also have a number of side effects that may contribute to your disability or even independently disable you. Chemotherapy and radiation can destroy cancerous cells but also cause damage to non-cancerous cells. In addition, there are side effects that the patient may experience. Each case is different, but it is not uncommon to experience nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, mood changes, and lack of focus or concentration, further preventing cancer patients from returning to work. It should also be noted that chemotherapy drugs can interact with other medications, making side effects more likely than they would be without multiple medications.
Fortunately, targeted therapies are now available to treat cancer. In targeted cancer therapies, a particular treatment is designed to attack cancerous cells based on cancer’s identified properties. While there are still areas of ongoing research regarding targeted therapy, and not all cancers respond to this line of treatment, targeted therapies can be used in conjunction with other cancer treatments to help improve the success of the overall treatment plan.
If you or a loved one are going through cancer treatment, contact Seltzer & Associates today to review your disability insurance claim with an experienced cancer lawyer.
Side Effects Can Be Disabling — Our Philadelphia Cancer Disability Attorney Understands Why You Need Help
As doctors know, treatment for and recovery from cancer can be physically and mentally strenuous. Cancer and its treatments can have many effects, such as changes in mood or thinking, dehydration, eating problems, falling, fatigue, fever, infections, low blood counts, Lymphedema, nausea and vomiting, pain, peripheral neuropathy, prostheses, seizures, shortness of breath, sleep problems, swelling, and weakness. It is important to understand that the resulting side effects of treatment can be disabling to an individual. Even though the treatment you receive for your cancer may be successful, the side effects you may experience may continue for a long time. Limited mobility, disruptive behaviors, and cognitive limitations can linger, making a return to work seem impossible.
These various side effects can prevent healthcare workers from returning to work and performing the essential duties of their occupation. If you cannot perform the main duties of your medical specialty, or if you are struggling to work while you deal with the side effects of cancer treatment, it is imperative to reach out to a cancer lawyer to discuss your disability insurance benefits.
Ongoing Cancer Concerns Preventing Medical Personnel from Returning to Work
Medical professionals have a greater occupational risk to return to work after recovering from cancer. Many treatments leave cancer survivors physically weak as well as at risk for additional medical setbacks. As mentioned, the side effects of cancer treatments can really damage the body, making it extremely difficult to work with reasonable continuity. Follow-up care and treatments leave patients susceptible to environmental factors and fatigued.
Cancer survivors often suffer from compromised immune systems for years. Whether in treatment or remission, your cancer doctor will have numerous precautions you need to adhere to in order to return to work and improve your chances of remaining cancer-free. Your health and your life may depend on staying out of certain work environments. If so, you need to contact a Philadelphia Cancer Lawyer to discuss your claim for disability insurance benefits.
Physicians cannot return to work in the medical field without acknowledging the risk of catching other deadly diseases through routine interaction with their own patients. Research facilities may also be off-limits to cancer survivors with weakened immune systems due to unknown risks.
Our Cancer Attorney Outlines the Guidelines for Disability Benefits
Your disability insurance benefits are dependent on the severity and duration of your condition. Proving this can be a challenge and maintaining your disability insurance benefits throughout the duration of your illness can be overwhelming. Throughout the lifecycle of your claim, your Philadelphia disability insurance lawyer will ensure that you present the strongest possible claim.
Both Social Security disability benefits and private disability insurance benefits have certain requirements that must be met prior to approving a claim. The Social Security Administration has a Blue Book that lists conditions, proof of disability, and rules for the claim process. An entire section of this book is dedicated to evaluating disability claims due to cancer. From categorizing types of cancer to listing specific resulting conditions or requiring a threshold of severity for approving benefits, this Blue Book guides the evaluation of claims. Overcoming these denials, reviews, or appeals based on these guidelines is a time-consuming, emotional, and frustrating process that is best handled by an experienced Philadelphia disability insurance lawyer.
While we focus on the financial benefits you can secure through your private disability insurance, it is important to understand Social Security disability as well. Private disability insurance companies may require that you apply for Social Security disability benefits as part of the process.
Your knowledgeable Philadelphia cancer attorney understands the guidelines insurance companies apply and the terms contained in disability insurance policies. From deadlines to definitions, your insurance company has a set of criteria to analyze your unique set of circumstances before your claim for disability insurance benefits can be approved. Insurance company protocols may make it easier to deny cancer patients the disability insurance benefits. Let an experienced Philadelphia disability insurance lawyer guide you through the claim process and secure your benefits.
A Philadelphia Cancer Disability Lawyer Will Help You Seek Benefits as You Recover
Recovery and remission are the ultimate goals to achieve from cancer treatment. Unfortunately, the road to recovery is often long and difficult. Acknowledging the limitations you have on re-entering the medical field and securing your financial health through your disability insurance claim is part of the recovery process. You do not have to go down this road alone. This is why partnering with a Philadelphia Cancer Lawyer with nationwide experience with disability insurance companies is so important to your claim for disability insurance benefits.
Understanding the progression your recovery may take is important. Even if you experience a period of recovery or remission, your medical provider will monitor you to detect any recurrence. In the unfortunate event that cancer returns, your treatment professionals will develop a new treatment plan to combat cancer.
Preventative measures such as surgery to remove concerning tissues and other methods of treatment may be required to keep your cancer in remission. Surgery comes with additional risk for cancer survivors since they are exposed to surgical risks, including infection, long recovery periods, and exposure to other illnesses from the hospital stay.
Treatment through recovery and remission can still result in disabling side effects that prevent medical professionals from working. Chemotherapy, radiation, and other medical treatments may be given throughout the recovery and remission periods as a preventative measure. Patients may experience similar side effects to those experienced in earlier stages of cancer treatment. The side effects of treatment may be lasting, even during remission, and can keep cancer survivors out of work for even longer. Your disability insurance policy should provide you with financial peace of mind as you are out of work to undergo treatment and recover from cancer.
Working with your Philadelphia Cancer Lawyer regarding your disability insurance benefits can help secure your financial future in these difficult situations. Regardless of the type of cancer, you are battling, Seltzer & Associates is equipped to take care of your claim for disability insurance benefits.
Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance For Cancer Patients
With the prevalence of cancer diagnoses, you may wonder if there is a certain type of disability insurance you should purchase to protect yourself if you become disabled from cancer or cancer treatments.
A short-term disability plan would provide coverage for short-term illness and treatment that requires you to be out of work (usually up to six months). Cancer that is caught early may be able to be treated with surgery and follow-up treatment that only lasts a few months. When your short-term disability benefits terminate, look for your next options for receiving disability insurance benefits.
Long-term disability insurance typically picks up where the short-term disability benefit period ends (around the six-month mark). As we know, some cancers can cause impairments lasting for years. Your long-term disability insurance benefits provide continuing financial support during this period of disability. As your treatment regimen changes, your insurance company may look for opportunities to terminate your benefits. If this happens, look to your policy and consult a Philadelphia cancer disability lawyer to maintain or reinstate your benefits.
Additional Insurance Policy Considerations When Dealing with Cancer
It is critical to understand the key policy terms and definitions. For example, a finding of residual disability or partial disability does not automatically terminate your benefits, but you would have a limited recovery of disability insurance benefits due to your ability to either perform some of your material duties at work or maintain a limited work schedule. Another part of common policy evaluation criteria is to consider own occupation vs. any occupation. In this evaluation, the insurance company looks at whether your policy provides coverage if you are prevented from working in your own occupation versus in any occupation, which is a more stringent standard. Policies may also transition from own occupation to any occupation over a fixed period of time. This becomes tricky for medical professionals since an insurance company can argue that while a surgeon may not be able to perform surgery, there are other suitable medical occupations. You will understand the material terms and limits of your coverage with an experienced Philadelphia private disability attorney by your side.
Finding Support for Cancer Patients
Finding support for cancer patients and their loved ones is very important. Finding others to share the concerns and challenges of fighting cancer and lean on during the difficulty of fighting cancer can help emotionally. Support groups and community resources can also help guide patients and families to the right resources for their own situations.
Due to the risk of being out in public due to compromised immune systems from cancer treatments, meeting with support groups can be concerning. However, there are more support resources out there, and we are fortunate to have the ability to connect through remote and virtual support resources via current technology. In this way, patients, caregivers, and loved ones can interact and support one another throughout the cancer journey. Your cancer lawyer is a vital resource as well and committed to helping you with your cancer disability insurance claim.
Disability Insurance for Cancer Survivors
After a cancer patient goes into remission, they may wonder what the options are for purchasing disability insurance benefits. You should still be able to obtain coverage, though you should also expect that a new policy may exclude cancer relapses and other pre-existing conditions. Even if you are offered coverage, you may experience significantly higher premiums due to your medical history. A little research, a careful reading of policies, and a consultation with your Philadelphia cancer lawyer will help you understand the options available to you as a cancer survivor.
Contact a Philadelphia Cancer Attorney to Help You with Disability Insurance Benefits Today
If cancer has affected your ability to work, contact Seltzer & Associates today for a free initial consultation with a top cancer attorney to review your disability insurance claim.