People find themselves needing time off of work for many different medical issues. If you break your clavicle in a car crash, that might need several months stuck at home and then weeks and physical therapy rebuilding your strength. Most of those medical issues will resolve quickly and only have a temporary impact on someone’s finances.
However, cancer often requires expensive and debilitating treatment. Those preparing to undergo treatment for cancer will potentially need to take a significant leave of absence from work. Can cancer help you qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits?
Depending on your case, you could qualify
There is no black-and-white answer regarding your ability to qualify for SSDI benefits with a specific diagnosis. Every individual will experience medical conditions differently based on their age, their sex or gender, and even their previous medical issues. When it comes to cancer, the stage of the cancer the time of diagnosis and the type of cancer will impact how serious the condition is and how invasive the treatment will be.
Those with cancer that has begun to metastasize may require more aggressive treatments, like systemic chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Those will localized cancer may need to have surgery and then submit to routine imaging tests to monitor for a recurrence. If you will undergo radiation followed by surgery and then six months of chemotherapy, you may qualify for SSDI benefits.
Provided that the condition or the impact of the treatment is severe enough that you cannot work at all and that you will be unable to go back to work for at least a year, your cancer could qualify you for SSDI benefits.
Medical documentation is key in cancer claims
Given how different the prognosis can be for two people with the same form of cancer, it will be your medical records and not just your diagnosis that will help you qualify for SSDI benefits. Understanding what records do you need and how to structure your application will significantly increase your chances of getting benefits. The good news is that if the Social Security Administration rejects our claim, you will have the opportunity to gather more evidence for your appeal.
Learning about the qualifications for SSDI benefits can make it easier for you to decide to apply.