Pancreatic Cancer Can Qualify You for Social Security Disability

The diagnosis is still stunning. The pain that you were feeling in your upper abdomen is not something that can be easily treated. Instead, it is pancreatic cancer, and according to your doctors, your prognosis is poor. Will you live out the rest of your life worrying about money, or is there a way you can have some money coming in even if you can no longer work?

Qualifying for Social Security Disability With Pancreatic Cancer

There are two ways to qualify for Social Security disability if you have pancreatic cancer. You can qualify because you:

• Meet the specific pancreatic cancer listing in the Social Security Administration’s Blue Book, which has listings for both exocrine carcinoma and islet cell carcinoma.
• Have functional limitations that prevent you from working.

If you have worked long enough in a job where you paid Social Security taxes and you meet one of these standards, you will be eligible to collect Social Security disability payments. In addition, because pancreatic cancer is such a serious disease, the Social Security Administration may expedite your case so that you receive benefits more quickly than you otherwise would.

Why Pursuing a Social Security Disability Claim Is Worth Your Time

While the American Cancer Society puts the five-year survival rate for the most common type of pancreatic cancer somewhere between one and 14 percent, depending on the specific stage of cancer you have, you are still living now. You still need to put a roof over your head and food on your table. Social Security disability can help you do that so that you can turn your attention to more important things and live your life on your terms.

The Social Security disability application process does not need to be a headache for you, nor does it need to take a lot of your time. While you may have heard that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is very specific in what it wants and often denies Social Security disability applications, you do not have to have this particular concern on your shoulders. Instead, you have the right to contact an experienced Social Security disability lawyer to make sure that your application is complete and to handle the application process with the SSA.

To learn more about your rights and why filing for Social Security is important for you now, please watch some of our videos and peruse our extensive library of articles. Then, when you are ready, contact our office at a time that works best for you, using our easy online contact form or live chat, to schedule a free, no-obligation meeting to discuss your specific situation. We are here to help you.

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

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