Not Everyone With Adrenal Cancer Qualifies for Social Security Disability in the Same Way

You are suffering from a relatively rare and a potentially devastating diagnosis. At first, your cancer had no symptoms. You, like most people with adrenal cancer, didn’t know that you were sick or that you needed treatment. By the time your adrenal cancer was symptomatic and it was diagnosed, it was already at a late stage. Now, you are too sick to work or your condition may be fatal.

Social Security Disability May Be an Option

The Social Security Administration’s listing for adrenal cancer is clear. You may qualify for Social Security disability benefits pursuant to Section 13.21 of the Listing of Impairments if one of the following two things is true:

• The cancer in your adrenal glands is inoperable, unresectable, or recurrent.
• The cancer in your adrenal glands has metastasized to or beyond the regional lymph nodes.

Additionally, you may qualify for Social Security disability benefits without meeting the requirements of Section 13.21 by proving that:

• You meet the qualifications in another listing. Adrenal cancer often results in hormone imbalances. If, for example, your hormone imbalances result in medical conditions such as stroke or heart disease then you may qualify for Social Security disability benefits if you meet the specific criteria for one of those medical conditions.
• Your condition is equal in severity to another listing. If you can prove that your adrenal cancer has the same effect on your body and your ability to work as another listing in the Listing of Impairments, you may qualify for disability benefits.
• You are unable to work because of your medical condition. If you can prove that your residual functional capacity leaves you unable to engage in substantial gainful activity, you may qualify for disability benefits.

However you qualify, you will need to submit a complete application to the Social Security Administration that includes medical documentation of your diagnosis, treatment plan, and prognosis.

You don’t have to do this alone. A board-certified Social Security disability lawyer can help you fight for the benefits you’ve earned and that you deserve. Please contact us today for more information about protecting your rights and please download our FREE book, Social Security Disability: What You Need to Know, to learn more.

by Paul B. Burkhalter
Managing Partner of Morgan & Weisbrod, Board Certified in Social Security Disability Law.

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