Managing Finances Through Cancer
- “Home Alone” actor Ken Hudson Campbell, who portrayed Santa Claus in the popular 1990 film, was diagnosed with cancer on Oct. 27 after a tumor was found. He underwent surgery on Dec. 7, is now “doing well” and incredibly grateful for all the love and financial support he’s received.
- Campbell’s daughter has revealed that the financial support on a GoFundMe she and her family created for her dad “really means the world to him.”
- The actor’s story is a reminder that costs associated with cancer can cause financial stress, but there are resources and organizations available to help you.
- Oftentimes, cancer centers have social workers or patient navigators on staff who can help patients navigate finances, figure out payment plans, and seeing whether they are eligible for any financial assistance programs.
- There are also groups, like The Healthwell Foundation, which may be able to help people pay their bills. And others, like the Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition, can help connect families with resources in their local area.
In a recent interview, Campbell’s daughter revealed that the financial support on a GoFundMe she and her family created for her dad “really means the world to him.”
While SCC is generally not life-threatening, it can be aggressive in certain cases. Early detection and treatment are crucial to prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body and causing serious health complications.
Recounting the shock her dad felt when he learned he had cancer, as he thought he was overall healthy, Michaela said her dad had areas of dysplasia surgically removed at the beginning of the year, but since he lost his SAG-AFTRA health insurance around that time, he stopped getting checked and the cancer became aggressive about 10 months later.
Following Campbell’s 10-hour surgery to remove his lymph nodes and a big area of his jaw bone, which was reconstructed with some of his leg bone, Michaela said her dad is “doing well,” as he recovers in the ICU for a couple of days, adding, “He is conscious and they took him off of his respirator, so he’s breathing by himself. They said that they were able to take all of the cancer out as well so he won’t need chemotherapy.”
Next month he will begin radiation treatment and embark on his six-months of recovery.
“I think the hardest part of this is going to be him losing his speech and his ability to talk. So speech therapy is going to play a big role in it,” Michaela says,” Michael told PEOPLE.
Due to Campbell not being able to work during this time, Michael and her family created a GoFundMe campaign to help collect the funds for his speech and physical therapy, medical equipment, caregivers, dental implants, and anything else need during this time of adversity.
The GoFundMe has since raised more than its goal of $100,000, something which Campbell is very thankful for.
His daughter said, “The first day we posted it, every time he read something, he would just burst into tears. It was the first time he really got emotional about the whole situation. It was kind of a shock to him to feel so loved.
“It really means the world. My family’s been struggling for a long time financially. So just having my dad’s friends come together, this is just very overwhelming and it really takes a lot of stress off of my family’s shoulders.”
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Campbell’s initial GoFundMe post “Ken Hudson Campbell is an accomplished film, TV, and voice-over actor & improvisational comedian who has been a card-carrying union member for upwards of 35 years. On October 27th, 2023, Ken was diagnosed with cancer, a tumor had elusively grown on the bottom of his mouth and it began encroaching on his teeth. On December 7th, he is scheduled for a 10-hour surgery, during which a large part of his jawbone will be removed, along with his lymph nodes, and part of his leg bone.
“Surgeons plan to reconstruct a new jaw for Ken from this leg bone, install it, and treat him with radiation. He will have a 6-month recovery period & Chemo may be needed afterwards as well.”
“Ken Campbell is a family man. A loving father of two children with an admirable lust for life, and a passion for acting, writing, & sports. It is possible that this procedure will affect his ability to work as an actor in the future. We are asking for your help so that Kenny can use the time ahead to return to health, and spend more time with family & friends. Every prayer, positive thought, dollar, or gesture of support means the world to our family,” the page concluded.
Following his surgery, a celebratory update post on the fundraising page read, “Ken’s Surgery Was a Success! On Thursday December 7th, the day of the surgery. My Dad, Ken Hudson Campbell, went into the OR at 8am and was finished at 6pm. The cancer was removed successfully, and his jaw bone has been reconstructed from his fibula and attached. Despite the swelling and incisions, he looks great.
“My family and I went to visit him at 8:30pm. He was sedated, and would be until the next morning. The day after surgery, they took him off the respirator. He is in very good condition. He’s giving us hand signals at times, writing his thoughts down and trying his hardest to communicate with us, even though he cannot speak. He’s been making small improvements in different ways as each day goes by.”
Getting Help Paying The Bills
If you’re struggling to pay your medical bills, just like Ken Hudson Campbell, there are many financial resources available to cancer patients and their caregivers that can help pay for costs associated with treatment, transportation, drugs, and other related expenses.
However, knowing how to find them can be overwhelming after a diagnosis.
Sara Goldberger, president of the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW), previously spoke with SurvivorNet on how oncology social workers can help.
But many people don’t know to ask if a social worker is available to them and aren’t aware of the resources they can help them find.
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“There are a wealth of organizations and opportunities to help people with the costs of cancer,” Goldberger said.
“Obviously, it’s a very deep well of need, and there’s not help for everyone in every situation, but knowing to ask is so important for patients and families.”
She said there are state and federal programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment that many people don’t know they’re entitled to.
In addition to that, there are hospital foundations that raise money for patient assistance, support from advocacy groups, and patient assistance plans sponsored by pharmaceutical companies to assist in providing free drugs or funds to help with copays.
A social worker can help patients find the ones for which they qualify.
Goldberger said if a social worker isn’t available through your care center, she would encourage people to call on the advocacy community. There are national, regional, and local organizations that can help patients find the resources they need.
“Being your own best advocate is so important,” she said.
“Figure out what you need and ask people for resources. There is a lot of need, and people are stressed out and struggling. COVID clearly didn’t make it any better, but there is money out there to help.”
For Help With Treatment Bills:
- The Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition can direct patients and their families to available local services.
- Many treatment centers offer extended payment plans and some may offer temporary payment delays, according to the American Cancer Society.
- CancerCare, which connects patients with oncology social workers, may be able to assist with co-pays, transportation, and other costs associated with care.
- The HealthWell Foundation may be able to help uninsured patients pay for treatment.
- The American Cancer Society may be able to link patients and their families with local resources (they offer a 24/7 helpline).
- The Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) works with patients and their insurance companies to resolve issues and may provide direct financial support to some patients.
- The Patient Access Network Foundation may be able to help with out-of-pocket costs associated with cancer treatment.
The Rising Cost Of Medical Bills
Ken Hudson Campbell’s story makes us think about the rising cost of health bills across the United States, how these enormous bills can cause distress, and how patients are coping with their medical debt.
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Also, a recently published Federal Reserve Survey revealed a portion of Americans decided to skip medical treatment in 2022, as a result of the increase in medical bill costs over the past few years.
“Health insurance is one way that people can pay for routine medical expenses and protect against the financial burden of large, unexpected expenses. In 2022, 91% of adults had health insurance, similar to 2021,” the survey says.
“Those without health insurance were more likely to forgo medical treatment because they couldn’t afford it. Among the uninsured, 42% went without medical treatment because they couldn’t afford it, compared to 26% among the insured.”
The also survey found that 28 percent of adults went without some type of medical care in 2022 due to the high costs, which is up from 24 percent in 2021.
“Dental care was the most frequently skipped, followed by visiting a doctor. Some people also reported skipping prescription medicine, follow-up care, or mental health visits,” the findings state.
“The increase in this measure may, in part, reflect consumer responses to inflation as medical care is an area where people can save money by cutting back on spending.”
Additionally, a study published this year in JAMA Network Open, concluded that in 2022, about 1 in 5 adults, ages 65 and older, skipped, took fewer prescribed drugs, delayed buying medications, or took another person’s medicine due to cost concerns.
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“Just over half of all respondents (56.5%) used medication cost-coping strategies. Cost-coping strategies included using a copayment card or coupon (30.4%), asking a physician for lower-cost medications (25.6%), shopping around at pharmacies to get a lower price (25.2%), asking a physician for free samples (17.8%), and buying prescriptions from another country (4.8%),” the study’s findings explain.
“Some respondents reported going without basic needs to afford medication (8.5%) or borrowing money or going into debt (4.8%).”
According to the study’s findings, higher levels of general inflation could be a contributing factor to an increase in “cost-related nonadherence” than earlier years. The study notes that general inflation increased from 1.4 percent in January 2021 to 9.1 percent in June 2022.
Coping with Oral Cancer
“From the 1980s to the 2010s, the rate of HPV-related head and neck cancers has gone up by 300 percent,” Dr. Ted Teknos, a head and neck cancer specialist and president and scientific director of University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio, told SurvivorNet during a previous interview.
Though not all oral cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, there is a link.
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The vast majority of humans in the United States, both men and women, will eventually get infected with HPV, according to Dr. Allen Ho, a head and neck surgeon at Cedars-Sinai.
“The important thing to know about HPV is that there are many different strains, and only a couple of them tend to be more cancer-inducing,” Dr. Ho previously told SurvivorNet during an interview.
“Probably less than 1 percent of the population who get infected happen to have the cancer-causing virus that somehow their immune system fails to clear, and over 15 to 20 years it develops from a viral infection into a tumor and cancer.”
WATCH: Understanding the Human papillomavirus.
While surgery is often required to remove the cancerous cells, other treatments include chemotherapy, radiation, and targeted drug therapies. If the cancer is advanced, some of these treatments can affect a patient’s ability to eat or speak, though it’s possible to regain those functions through rehabilitation therapy.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you are worried about cancer treatment costs, here are some questions you can ask your doctor to kickstart your way to solutions.
- What will my treatment cost?
- Will my medical insurance cover my treatment?
- How long do you expect my cancer treatment to last?
- What options do I have if I can’t afford my medication?
- Can you recommend a financial counselor or navigator to talk with?
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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