Can I Qualify for Disability Benefits with Breast Cancer?

For the entire month of October, major breast cancer charities try to increase awareness of the disease. The statistics are staggering: one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. It is the second leading cause of death in women, and a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every two minutes.

To help women in the Muncie and Delaware County communities, services like the Little Red Door have programs to help provide free or reduced breast health services. Through grants and funding, Open Door Health Services partners with Little Red Door to provide screenings throughout the year. Not only is breast cancer a local issue, but it is also a global issue; if caught early, patients have a 90 percent survival rate.

Although you might beat the cancer, it doesn’t mean that you are able to perform every task at 100 percent or may not be able to return to work as before. In that case, the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides benefits for those who are not able to work because of their existing medical condition.

Breast Cancer Medical Qualifications

To qualify for benefits with breast cancer, you must submit doctor’s reports that show one of the following:

• Advanced breast cancer extends to the chest, skin, or other internal mammary nodes in the body
• Cancer that has started in the cells of the skin or tissue lining in the organs that have spread to the head or below the collarbone, has spread to the closest ten or more nodes or has spread to distant regions in the chest
• Cancerous cells that return after therapy
• Small-cell carcinoma

To qualify medically, the requirements are specific. It is best to first reach out to your doctor to see if your cancer meets the SSA’s listing of requirements. In general, to qualify medically, applicants must have breast cancer of stage three or higher to receive benefits.

Compassion Allowances

Instead of enduring the normal application process, if an applicant with breast cancer has severe disabilities and needs immediate assistance, the SSA will expedite the process. This is only if you qualify under the terms for a compassion allowance. To meet this qualification, applicants must meet one of the following conditions:

• Their breast cancer has spread to distant organs
• The cancer has returned despite chemotherapy or other treatments
• The cancer is inoperable

Part of what speeds up the application process is proving one of the three conditions above. However, keep in mind that in order to qualify for a compassionate allowance, your breast cancer must be incredibly severe. Even some more serious cases don’t get approved for compassionate allowances. Remember, though, that even if you don’t get approved for a compassionate allowance, you can still seek disability benefits through the normal approval process.

Consult a Muncie Social Security Disability Attorney

Applying for disability is always tricky and never easy. Consult trusted attorneys who have experience in this area. Call the Muncie disability attorneys at Hensley Legal Group today for your free consultation, or contact us online.