Financial issues and cancer

 

Facing Financial Issues

Cancer survivors may be stuck with debt from medical bills and required time away from work, especially in this struggling economy. Coming up with a plan to get out of debt can be helpful, as well as eliciting help from any non profit organization geared toward providing financial assistance to cancer patients.

Link to NCI cancer patients financial assistance programs (including late effects)

Or utilize the services of a debt/tax counseling service

 

Financial Planning: Estate Planning, Wills vs. Trusts, etc

It is common for cancer survivors to feel a need to focus on estate planning after struggling with cancer. There may be a need to have their assets protected and their family’s financial future secured. To this end, estate planning may be of assistance. 

 

Estate planning typically refers to the creation of a series of legal documents that control your property and other personal matters during life and after death. This process may be handled by a variety of professionals including lawyers, financial planners, bankers, brokers, accountants or life insurance advisors.

 

The Financial Planning Association is a good resource to find an estate planner and has lists of those willing to provide pro bono services as well.

Medical Power of Attorney (also known as Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care), Advance Health Care Directives and the POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment)

 

While financial planning deals with the future management of property, electing a Power of Attorney or completing a POLST or Advanced Health Care Directive will help you to plan for your future medical treatment in the event that you become unable to do so.

 

Advanced Health Care Directives allow you to explain the type of medical treatment you’d like as well as who will carry out those decisions. A social worker or doctor typically assists patients with this form.

 

Medical Power of Attorney is the term for the individual who has the right to exercise your health care wishes.

 

The POLST form is the newest and some would say it is the extensive way to list your health care wishes. It needs to be completed with your doctor (often your Medical Oncologist) and includes information about how you’d like to be treated in a medical emergency, such as whether or not you would like CPR.

 

The information in this form follows you, and is available to all medical personnel whether you are at home, in a nursing care home, inlong term care, or in a hospital. Contact your doctor for assistance completing a POLST.

 

Following are the links to online support resources:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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