How the American Cancer Society Helps Patients

Navigating a cancer diagnosis is a very difficult challenge that unfortunately also carries a financial burden. Here at Life Credit, we strive to provide individuals and families with the best possible guidance for managing medical expenses as well as planning for the future and making good on lifelong travel or “experience” dreams. Along with financial assistance, we also offer recommendations on national and regional organizations that give patients access to a variety of other essential services. Organizations That Help Cancer Patients Over the years, we have been asked a lot of questions and have also received a lot of feedback regarding the emotional, physical, financial and legal benefits these organizations can provide. As you’d expect, the largest organizations have the most reach in terms of partnerships and support. However, when it comes to addressing very specific or unusual needs, some have more or less to offer. The American Cancer Society One of the organizations that we hear a lot about is the American Cancer Society. Hop on the website and you will see pages of information and links covering just about everything patients and their families or caregivers need to manage treatment and recovery. This includes its Health Insurance Assistance Service (HIAS), dedicated to help patients choose and get the most of out their health insurance coverage—all free of charge and accessible in both the real and virtual worlds. While ACS won’t actually perform these services for you, they will direct you toward resources that can help. Patients will also find a lot of valuable information pertaining to prevention, therapy (and risk factors), quality of life and survivorship research....

National Cancer Survivors Day: A Time-out to Celebrate Cancer Victories

In honor of National Cancer Survivors Day (NCSD) the Life Credit team is taking a time-out to say “thank you” to all the organizations, scientists and healthcare professionals that have contributed to the rising survival rate of approximately 68%—a 12% rise since NCSD began in 1987. Though our work here at Life Credit is not “life-saving” in the medical or physical sense, we do believe that by providing cancer patients with unrestricted financial assistance, we are improving their quality of life by helping them to focus on what is most important: their health. We understand how devastating a cancer diagnosis can be, and while we spend a lot of time helping patients plan for the worst, we also encourage them to plan for the best, which of course is survival. But we don’t sugar coat things: the economic burdens associated with cancer don’t suddenly disappear when a patient goes into remission. Paying off medical expenses can take a long time, and in many cases, financial stability has been negatively impacted by lost wages and reduced productivity. And worse, many patients are denied health and life insurance coverage. Imagine what that must feel like. There are limitations, but we take pride in our ability to ease this burden and help make it possible for survivors to get back to living life to the fullest degree possible. And that, is one of the greatest joys all of us here at Life Credit share. When we read current survival rates, and hear the stories from our clients, friends and family members and even strangers, we feel sincere joy. Which is why, in...

Resources for Cancer Patients: A New Series

Newly diagnosed cancer patients and their families have a lot of questions, making it critical to quickly identify reliable resources for emotional, physical and financial support. The first place patients tend to head is to their computers, which can have both positive and negative impact, depending upon the type of information they discover. Though surfing the web can be perilous, there is a lot to be said for a little anonymous comfort-seeking and the ability to immediately connect to patients in all stages of the disease. Most of the prominent cancer organizations have online communities and can quickly put patients on a path of positivity and productivity by addressing the most pressing concerns such as finding the right doctor, making sense of the statistics, what to expect from surgery and chemotherapy, where to find a local support group, and how to stay healthy while undergoing treatment. Still others focus on the practical aspects of handing a cancer diagnosis: how to pay for treatment, how to navigate health insurance red tape, where to go for free services to help minimize costs, understanding legal matters, and short- and longterm financial planning. All of this information is essential for patients and their families, which is why the team at Life Credit devotes several hours each week to researching and familiarizing themselves with both the benefits and deficits of relying on cancer support organizations during this scary and uncertain time. In an effort to help our clients find the resources that best match their needs, the Life Credit blog is kicking off a series of posts evaluating several national cancer organizations. Additionally, in...