Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,552 | There are many things to do: There are many discounts offered for medical reasons. Power bills, lifeline for telephone, water, etc. It can add up. Some states have programs for "in-home care" will will reimburse for some of the hours caregivers put in - including spouses.
The ACS will pay for mileage (up to $250.00) for travel to treatment (has to be over 60mi.) They also provide rides and drivers.
Then there is SSDI.
My church helped a lot, paid bills for me, etc.
One anonymous donor paid for the first 3 months of my health insurance (which was around 3K).
A good place to start is with the hospital social worker.
A caregiver support would be a great help also, at least she would know that she is not alone. Counseling at the very least. Sometimes just getting people to talk about their fears can relieve a lot of the tension and fear.
Gary Allsebrook *********************************** Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2 Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy) ________________________________________________________ "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)
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