When someone is looking to receive approval for disability under the Department of Social Security, it is important to understand the different factors that they are going to consider. The information that has been published by the Department of Social Security can be confusing and some people may not be able to understand the jargon that is on their page.
Fortunately, they also provide a list of diseases and disorders that are covered, including cancers (which are referred to as neoplastic diseases). Some of the examples include:
- Pancreatic cancers
- Throat cancer
- Thyroid cancer (including medullary carcinoma)
- Hepatic cancer (cancer of the liver)
- Cancers of the lung, including adenocarcinoma, small cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma
- Cancers of the bones, such as osteosarcoma
- Cancers of the reproductive system, such as testicular cancer and ovarian cancer
- Blood cancers, such as leukemia (ALL, CLL, AML, CML) and lymphoma (Burkitt’s Lymphoma and Hodgkin’s Lymphoma)
- Multiple Myeloma
- Stomach cancer
- Breast cancer
Remember, this list is far from complete and there are lots of subtypes of all of the cancers above. Every cancer needs to be evaluated differently because some treatment options work well for some cancers but not others.
While the Social Security Administration is reviewing the case for coverage, there are multiple different factors that they are going to consider. Some of the questions that need to be answered are:
- How exactly did this form of cancer start in the first place?
- Is it contained in the original location or has it spread to other parts of the body?
- What are the various symptoms that it is causing?
- How are these symptoms impacting the life of the patient?
- How long as the cancer been present?
- Is the cancer responding to the treatment?
- Are there any side effects of the treatment that the patient is having trouble tolerating?
These questions can be tough to answer and a lot of the success of the proposal is going to depend on how the information is being presented. Therefore, there are some documents that the government is going to need to see. These include:
- Any of the operative reports if surgery was completed or biopsies were obtained
- Information from any of the doctors’ visits, such as medical records
- Supporting documents that discuss any of the other active medical problems that the individual may have
The government needs all of this information to complete a thorough evaluation of the case as they decide whether or not the individual qualifies for disability. There could be a long wait and it is important for people to receive all of the help that they can get. Meeting with a trained legal professional could prove helpful. For more information about cancer and your SSI, click here.
