Worried about my job and paying bills!

Sattaylor

I am new here.  I am so worried about work. Just diagnosed and don't even know what to be thinking!!!  I am single.  I am employed full time with good health insurance.  I do have a little vacation and sick time, but I don't have any other benefits.  No FMLA, short term or long term disablility.  I work for a small family run business with only 4 people.  I have not even told them about my diagnosis yet.  I am so worried about what will happen if I become very sick and have to miss a lot of work.  I think they will be understanding about me missing some work, but there has to be a limitation to their kindness.  I don't know what to expect in the future.  If I have to be off work for any exended period of time, I will not get paid. It's just me.  I live paycheck to paycheck the way it is.  If I even missed a week of work, I would not be able to keep up with my bills.  I am in a panic!  Could they fire me for missing work?  Then I would be out of health insurance.  I'm scare to death.  Should I look into buying private short-term/long-term disabiltiy insurance?.  I don't have life insurnace either. Is it even possible to get such benefits once you have been diagnosed?  I would think they would base eligibility based on your medical history.  Please give me some feedback.  Thank you.

Salamandra

Hi Sattaylor,

I think a lot of this will depend on your diagnosis, but there is an excellent chance you will be able to make things work without taking more than a week off of work (or maybe 3 weeks if you need a mastectomy) and then time off for doctors appointments.

If you're early stage, it's possible you'll just need a lumpectomy and radiation. For the lumpectomy, people manage with only 3-5 days off of work when needed. Some people don't take time off work for radiation at all - it can usually be scheduled for early morning or late evening. Possibly you'll even be eligible for intraoperative radiation - a blast of radiation while you are open for surgery, and be done with it then. It's probably worth asking your doctor about.

Some women are able to work through chemo too.

There are many organizations that offer financial support to women facing this. With the right doctors' notes and a lot of legwork, you can apply for financial aid for paying your rent, buying groceries, gas/transportation, copays, etc. Your treatment center may have a social worker who can help you with all of that. This page from Susan Komen may also be a useful place to start.

My understanding is that you will probably have to wait a number of years before being eligible for disability insurance, and possibly life insurance too.

Breast cancer by itself is so anxiety inducing. I'm sorry that in addition to that, you have to deal with the financial concerns too. You'll be in a much better place to make contingency plans once you have a clearer understanding of your diagnosis and treatment plans.