What Types of Cancer Are Considered Disabling By Social Security?
One of the most difficult things to deal with in a person’s life is hearing that they or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer. There are many types of cancer that can affect your ability to work including skin cancer, lymphoma, breast cancer, throat cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and the list goes on. In certain cases people who are diagnosed with a potentially terminal cancer will be approved automatically for Social Security Disability, while other people who are diagnosed with cancers that may be treated are surprised that their application gets denied because there is no way of telling if their condition will still affect them a year later.
How Does Social Security View Cancer?
One thing to remember is that for Social Security to award you benefits your condition must either be expected to last one year or be expected to end in death. Many people who are diagnosed with cancers that can possibly be treated with chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery are denied at the original application stage because there is no way of telling if their condition will be disabling for at least one year.
Listings: 14 different types of conditions, that if you meet the exact criteria Social Security has set up, you will be considered medically eligible for Disability.
Cancer, for the most part, is covered under Social Security Disability Listing 13. However, there are 28 subsections under the listing for cancer. If you have been diagnosed with cancer and are considering applying for Social Security Disability, you should call our office and talk to one of our attorneys today, you can reach our office at 1-800-488-4775.
Functional Ability: If you do not meet the listing for a condition, or if a specific listing does not exist for your condition, you can still win your case if you show that you are unable to do any sort of competitive work due to your condition.
Many people are discouraged when they hear that their condition may not exactly meet a listing, and they think that their case has no shot, but this is not the case. Most people who are awarded benefits win by proving that their condition significantly limits their ability to function on a day-to-day basis.
Cancer Affecting Your Work:
To prove your case based on your functional ability you have to show that your cancer keeps you from being able to perform any type of work on a full-time competitive basis. The best way to do this is by showing how your cancer affects your ability to do basic day-to-day tasks.
The most effective way to show how your cancer limits your ability to do these types of tasks is by having your attorney and your doctor work together to explain your cancer’s effect on your body. We create specialized medical assessment forms for your doctors to fill out and work directly with your doctors to explain how your condition affects you to the judge.
Treatment Affecting Your Work:
When someone is diagnoses with certain types of cancer the actual disease may not limit their ability to function enough to win disability benefits. However, the disease is not the only thing that a judge looks at. Many times when people are battling cancer, the treatment can affect them more than the disease. Many cancer treatments cause extreme nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, skin irritation, and sensitivity to light or touch. Our attorneys will work with your doctors to prove that even if your conditions do not stop you from being able to work, the side effects from your treatment does.
Call our office today and see if you qualify:
While we provide the information above about Social Security Disability benefits so that you will better understand if you are eligible, the best way to check your eligibility is by calling our office and speaking to one of our client service representatives today. You may reach our office toll free at 1-800-488-4775.