World Lymphoma Awareness Day

Lymphoma Social Security Disability Benefits and You

As far as holidays go, September 15th may not ring a bell to a lot of people, even though it’s a day used to spread awareness of a well-known condition. Every year on September 15th, the world celebrates Lymphoma Awareness Day.

It’s an attempt to help people understand this cancer of the lymphocytes (cells that fight off infection) so that people are better-equipped to diagnose themselves early and get themselves to a doctor.

However, you may already be all too aware of the dangers of lymphoma. If like over 72,000 Americans, you have non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, then you already know how difficult it can be to live with the disease.

The treatments and exhaustion can leave you completely unable to do basic things like grocery shopping, much less more strenuous activities such as working.

There is help available. If you apply for Social Security disability for your lymphoma, you may be able to get monthly benefits that help you survive. At the very least, you won’t have to worry about working to survive.

You’re all too familiar with lymphoma, and this awareness day is mostly a way of getting the rest of the world to catch up and build up common knowledge about the disease. However, there’s also something you could learn on Lymphoma Awareness Day--specifically, how to apply for Social Security benefits for your condition.

If you have lymphoma, you’re eligible for benefits that will allow you to stop focusing on work and spend your energy on treatment, and hopefully, your recovery.

Lymphoma Awareness Day

September is National Blood Cancer Awareness Month, and the 15th is specifically devoted to Lymphoma. Like many health-related causes, the month has a strong association with the color red. As part of the holiday, building owners are encouraged to light their buildings with red lights to promote awareness of the condition.

Lymphoma Awareness Day is extremely important in part because incidences of lymphoma are on the rise. Additionally, according to an international survey by lymphoma coalition, many people are unfamiliar with how to catch lymphoma early on.

Lymphoma Awareness Day’s educational bent combats that lack of awareness by providing resources on what lymphoma is and how to look for it.

Lymphoma Awareness Day is also meant to be empowering for Lymphoma Coalition organizations worldwide. This includes organizations such as CancerCare, the Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (USA), among many others.

These types of organizations could be useful to you as a lymphoma patient, and Lymphoma Awareness Day is meant to be helpful to both you and these organizations.

How to Qualify for Lymphoma with the Blue Book

In order to qualify for lymphoma, you’ll want to look at the appropriate section of the SSA’s Blue Book. This is a resource that shows which conditions would entitle you to benefits, and the SSA makes decisions based on its contents.

Cancers are covered in section 13, and lymphoma is listed in section 13.05. The Blue Book indicates that having lymphoma is enough of a reason to be able to get benefits.

Additionally, the Blue book states that having a bone marrow or stem cell transplant as part of your treatment for lymphoma would allow you to be considered disabled for twelve months after that point.

This is all promising information if you have lymphoma and want to file a claim. Of course, keep in mind that if you choose to pursue claims, there are a few things you’ll need to know.

How a Social Security Attorney or Advocate Could Help You Qualify

If you choose to file a claim, your first step should be to gather up all of your relevant medical documents. These documents should show that you have lymphoma and that it keeps you from being able to work most of the jobs available to you.

Relevant documents could include MRI scans, lab tests, doctor’s notes, and more. Once you have all of this information at the ready, you can start the application process.

The application process can be confusing, and it’s easy to not fill out the forms properly. This is one of the reasons that having a Social Security disability attorney can be so helpful. Your attorney can help with every part of the application process so that you can worry about getting better rather than worry about getting the forms done properly.

Plus, your attorney will represent you at your hearing, which will help your chances of getting the benefits you deserve.

Wonderful things are happening on September 15th to promote an understanding of lymphoma. However, if you have lymphoma, you’re all too aware of it already.

But now that you’re aware of how a lawyer can help you get benefits for it, be sure to get a free evaluation to get started on the claim process. You deserve all the help you can get.