Cancer Finances 101

cancer finances 101

Have you been looking for a toolkit for navigating your finances after young adult cancer?  Look no further!

Triage Cancer and The Samfund have put together a fabulous toolkit, asking you questions about important topics to bring you the information that you absolutely need.  You can use it to find out more about health insurance, disability insurance, education, estate planning, and so much more with the end goal of helping you understand how cancer treatment impacts your finances. They want to provide you with information and tools to help make sound financial decisions before, during, and after cancer treatment– not just in the wake of the financial wreckage cancer often causes.

Check out the toolkit here!

Motherhood After Cancer Comes In Many Forms

kitchen scene

We shared this beautiful piece on our social channels when it first went live after Mother’s Day but we just couldn’t help ourselves from sharing it again here.  For many young adult cancer survivors, conversations around fertility and family building are hard, sometimes even triggering.  My own fertility issues and struggle to become pregnant is one of the few pieces of my survivorship I speak very rarely about.  Sam Watson, CEO of the Samfund, shared her own perspective in a must-read piece.

“’You may never have kids.” “The chemo will probably zap your fertility.’  ‘You need to start treatment now… there’s no time to talk about the rest.’  I was 21 and had just been diagnosed with bone cancer. At 23, I was diagnosed with secondary Myelodysplastic Syndrome and no further conversations about family planning were had…  For anyone who is struggling with the concept of what makes a parent, I firmly believe that it has nothing to do with whether or not you share DNA.  There are many paths to parenthood, none more or less equal than any other.  In the end, parenting is about love, plain and simple.  I am every bit a “real” mom to my two kids, both of whom I adopted at birth.”

Read the rest here!

Financial Assistance Through The Samfund

people at a cafe

The Samfund is excited to announce that the application for their next grant cycle is NOW available through February 12, 2019!

The Samfund awards direct assistance to young adults who are struggling financially because of cancer. Our grants cover a wide range of needs, including medical expenses, living expenses, insurance premiums, family building costs, and much more.

Who is eligible?

Young adult cancer survivors who are eligible candidates must be:
Between the ages of 21 and 39 at the time when the application is submitted
Residents of the United States

Must meet ONE of the following criteria:
Completed planned treatment with no evidence of disease, or
One year following the completion of planned treatment with stable disease, or
In remission and on long-term hormonal therapy (such as Tamoxifen for breast cancer survivors) or long-term targeted therapy (such as Gleevec or Herceptin)

Individuals who have received grants in the past may reapply and may receive up to three separate grant awards. Anyone who received a grant in Fall 2018 must wait until July 2019 to reapply.

If you missed their “Grants 101” Webinar, be sure to check out the recording on their site here!

Important dates:

Tuesday, February 12th at 5PM EST: Deadline for all submissions. No exceptions or extensions!

Mid-late April: All applicants will be notified if they’ve been selected to receive funding.

Please email them at grants@thesamfund.org with any questions!

Click here to apply!

Financial Assistance For Young Adult Cancer Survivors

financial assistance to young adults after cancer

If you haven’t heard about them already, we’re here to tell you about a wonderful organization we are proud to call a friend, The Samfund.  They offer “financial assistance to young adults as they regain momentum in their lives after cancer.”  We’re talking today specifically about the great work done over at The Samfund because their Winter 2018 Grant application is now open!  The deadline is Thursday, February 8th at 5 pm EST to submit your application, so go do that now!

Learn here and submit your application here!

The Finances 101 Toolkit

finances 101

Triage Cancer and The Samfund have put together a fabulous toolkit for young adult cancer survivors, Finances 101.  The toolkit is designed to help remove some of the extra stress that finances can cause during cancer as a young adult.

“This Toolkit is designed to help you understand how cancer treatment impacts your finances….The Samfund and Triage Cancer teamed up to create this Toolkit to provide young adults with cancer information and tools to help make sound financial decisions before, during, and after their treatment– not just in the wake of the financial wreckage cancer often causes.”

Check out the entire toolkit, Finances 101, here!

Tell Congress That You Need Your Healthcare

#ProtectOurCare

Politics in the United States are changing every day.  One of the policies under scrutiny is the Affordable Care Act, also known as the ACA and as Obamacare.  The ACA made many strides towards helping cancer patients and survivors obtain and maintain their health insurance coverage.  There is fear that changes made to the ACA (or the repeal of it entirely) will dramatically impede the young adult cancer community in having quality and affordable health insurance.  You have the power to let your voice be heard.  Are you only covered because of the ACA?  Before the ACA removed lifetime caps in coverage, would you have run out of coverage due to cancer treatments?  Were you able to change jobs or take time off of work because of the flexibility the ACA finally allowed people with pre-existing conditions…*cough* cancer *cough.*

Tell your members of congress that you need your healthcare! The NCCS has a tip sheet and a sample script to make it SUPER easy!  Make a call, send a postcard, tell your story.

Your story matters.  Make it heard.

The Samfund Grant Application Information

samfund grants

It is that time of year!  The Samfund has opened their grant cycle and is accepting applications!

Go here to find all of the information but the applications are due on February 1st at 5 pm EST!

From their website…

We proudly provide financial assistance to young adults as they regain momentum in their lives after cancer. Since 2005, we have awarded over $1,700,000 to recipients across the country.

Am I eligible to apply?

You are eligible to apply if you are a U.S. resident, are a cancer survivor between the ages of 21 and 39 at the time when Part I is submitted and meet ONE of the following criteria:

Completed planned treatment with no evidence of disease, or
One year following the completion of planned treatment with stable disease, or
In remission and on long-term hormonal therapy (such as Tamoxifen for breast cancer survivors) or long-term targeted therapy (such as Gleevec or Herceptin)
If you meet these criteria at the time when Part I is submitted, you are eligible to apply.

Learn more here!

The Thing About Cancer + Finances Is…

young adult cancer and finances

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During the month of May, we’ll be bringing back some of your favorite posts in groups of 5!

Today, we’ve got 5 GREAT posts focused on getting to the nitty gritty of young adult cancer and finances.

[/spb_text_block] [spb_single_image image=”14188″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” lightbox=”yes” image_link=”https://cactuscancer.wpengine.com/things-ive-learned-applying-new-health-care-coverage/” link_target=”_blank” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/2″ el_position=”first”][/spb_single_image] [spb_single_image image=”14186″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” lightbox=”yes” image_link=”https://cactuscancer.wpengine.com/budget-cancer/” link_target=”_blank” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/2″ el_position=”last”][/spb_single_image] [spb_single_image image=”14187″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” lightbox=”yes” image_link=”https://cactuscancer.wpengine.com/health-insurance-employment-finance-guides-oh/” link_target=”_blank” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/2″ el_position=”first”][/spb_single_image] [spb_single_image image=”14190″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” lightbox=”yes” image_link=”https://cactuscancer.wpengine.com/cancer-is-expensive/” link_target=”_blank” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/2″ el_position=”last”][/spb_single_image] [spb_single_image image=”14189″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” lightbox=”yes” image_link=”https://cactuscancer.wpengine.com/this-should-never-happen/” link_target=”_blank” fullwidth=”no” width=”1/2″ el_position=”first last”][/spb_single_image]