Ronnie Foster of Pink Hill, North Carolina was having trouble paying for all of the costs associated with his colon cancer treatment when a lucky scratch-off lottery card won him a whopping $200,000. Foster, who was diagnosed with colon cancer last January, was on his way to receive his last round of chemotherapy when he won the prize — a sum of money he now plans to put toward his cancer bills.
"I was already happy because it was my last round of chemo," Foster said, according to a press release from the North Carolina Education Lottery. "Winning this made it my lucky day."
Read More“This Will Make it a Whole Lot Easier” — Foster Plans to Spend His Winnings on The Cancer Bills
Like so many people cancer treatment, Foster, a retired Department of Transportation employee, has been struggling with the financial burden of the disease. And although he shared that he does have “good insurance,” he still faces high costs.
“This will make it a whole lot easier,” Foster said.
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The Challenge of Paying For Cancer Goes Beyond Medical Treatment
Members of the SurvivorNet community often talk about the high cost of cancer — and how, even with excellent insurance, a cancer journey can bring unexpected costs. The most difficult financial burden that comes with cancer, for many, is a loss or reduction in income. Treatment can make it difficult to maintain a job — or at least continue to work for the same amount of hours as before. With this reduction in income, making routine payments such as mortgages, car payments, utility bills, and groceries can pose a greater challenge.
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Additionally, a lot of people going through cancer treatment must pay for their transportation to the hospital or cancer center along with parking once they get there, or lodging if the center is far away from home. Parents with young children must also pay for childcare. All of these costs add up, ultimately contributing to a series of devastating statistics. According to a study published last year in the American Journal of Medicine, 42 percent of patients with cancer deplete their entire life’s assets. Another study — this one published in 2013 — found that people diagnosed with cancer were 2.65 times more likely to go bankrupt than people who were cancer-free.
It is for this reason that many patients with cancer turn to crowdfunding websites such as GoFundMe to help with the cost of treatment. These methods only work some of the time, though. Experts tell SurvivorNe that the best way to get help paying the cancer bills is by finding someone who will advocate for you, such as a social worker.
“It’s really important kind of when you’re starting treatment to speak with someone, and a social worker is a good place to start,” Sarah Stapleton, a licensed clinical social worker at Montefiore Medical Center told SurvivorNet. “Social workers are generally the person in the clinic that can hook you up with all of the sources that are outside of the medical realm. Someone within the clinic that can help you navigate what co-payments you can expect and what will be covered by your insurance.”
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