1. < Prostate Cancer

Disability for cancer treatment side effects

Posted by laclark @laclark, Nov 28, 2023

My 50 year old husband has aggressive Gleason 9 prostate cancer, staged at IIIB, with lymph node involvement. After prostate removal and 10 weeks of radiation, his workplace short term disability period has ended. He is on 2 yrs of Lupron and daily Zytiga/Prednisone. He has to urinate about every hour, has fatigue, leg cramps, headaches, hot flashes, and is on an emotional roller-coaster. Although his work is home-based, it is stressful and he is not confident he can go back to work. Has anyone taken long term disability due to the side effects of non-terminal prostate cancer?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Dec 1, 2023

@laclark, you may also be interested in this related discussion:
- Cancer and returning to work
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cancer-and-work/

I believe fellow members like @heathermcfarland @philipsnowdon @marvinjsturing have experience with long-term disability related to cancer treatments. Has he looked into applying for long-term disability?

REPLY
2 replies
philipsnowdon | @philipsnowdon | Dec 1, 2023
In reply to @colleenyoung "@laclark, you may also be interested in this related discussion: - Cancer and returning to work..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@laclark, you may also be interested in this related discussion:
- Cancer and returning to work
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cancer-and-work/

I believe fellow members like @heathermcfarland @philipsnowdon @marvinjsturing have experience with long-term disability related to cancer treatments. Has he looked into applying for long-term disability?

Jump to this post

Hi Colleen,
Thanks for your interest in my cancer experience. Actually, I’ve been severely disabled from CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, FIBROMYALGIA and CHIARI MALFORMATION for the past 30+ years. My Prostate Cancer has been a recent event in my life during the past 16 months.
As a result, it’s not actually been my cancer that’s responsible for my long term disability.
I’ve been so debilitated for so many years that it’s been impossible for me to return to work or employment of any kind.
I’ve certainly given and continue to give it all of my best efforts but I have so many different debilitating symptoms that it has made it impossible to manage and be able to do much of anything including work.
Fortunately, I had private disability income insurance so I could provide for myself financially until I was 65 years old when my policies coverages expired.
I would never have made it without my disability insurance and would have ended up homeless because I couldn’t take care of myself for many years.
If you can’t work and you’re too debilitated to care for yourself it’s a very untenable position to be in.
Fortunately, I had a very loving and committed wife who took care of me full time for the first 11 years of my total disability, unfortunately, my condition was so bad that it was extremely stressful on her and when her health and overall wellbeing began to fail we separated. Even though we still loved each other very much I couldn’t put my wife’s life and well-being in jeopardy. Sometimes you have to make decisions you don’t want to make but you know it’s the right thing to do. It took her 3 years to recover physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually from the incredible amount of stress she had been under. I will be forever grateful to her because she saved my life and gave me the opportunity to survive which I could not have done without her incredible endurance and commitment to my life. Even though I was only 36 years old when I first became ill and debilitated I was existing in life like a 90 year old man on his death bed. Had I not actually experienced the past 30+ years I would never have believed or even conceived of the fact that one could be so devastatingly debilitated and survive. It’s taken everything I’ve had and have learned to make it to this stage in my life.
Although nobody wants to get or live with a cancer diagnosis and treatment regime, my cancer experience has been much easier to live with than my past and continuing disabilities.
I wish all of my fellow Prostate Cancer patients and Cancer Patients of all kinds for a total remission and complete wellbeing.
GODSPEED

REPLY
1 reply
laclark | @laclark | Dec 3, 2023
In reply to @colleenyoung "@laclark, you may also be interested in this related discussion: - Cancer and returning to work..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@laclark, you may also be interested in this related discussion:
- Cancer and returning to work
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cancer-and-work/

I believe fellow members like @heathermcfarland @philipsnowdon @marvinjsturing have experience with long-term disability related to cancer treatments. Has he looked into applying for long-term disability?

Jump to this post

Thank you, his short term disability is running out so he will be looking into long-term disability next.

REPLY
1 reply
ddl | @ddl | Dec 4, 2023
In reply to @laclark "Thank you, his short term disability is running out so he will be looking into long-term..." + (show)
@laclark

Thank you, his short term disability is running out so he will be looking into long-term disability next.

Jump to this post

Don’t know if this is helpful, but I applied for and received approval for disability payments from the Social Security Administration. It took about six months and it would have taken much longer had I not been vigilant in calling and trying to move the process forward. I have stage Pt3b Gleason 8 with spread beyond the prostate into the prostate bed. If you apply to SSA for disability, make sure you push for the Compassionate Allowance review to get expedited approval, otherwise you might be waiting years. You can google the Compassionate Allowance program to see the criteria for approval. Good luck.

REPLY
p4lety | @parkerlety | Dec 16, 2023
In reply to @philipsnowdon "Hi Colleen, Thanks for your interest in my cancer experience. Actually, I’ve been severely disabled from..." + (show)
@philipsnowdon

Hi Colleen,
Thanks for your interest in my cancer experience. Actually, I’ve been severely disabled from CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, FIBROMYALGIA and CHIARI MALFORMATION for the past 30+ years. My Prostate Cancer has been a recent event in my life during the past 16 months.
As a result, it’s not actually been my cancer that’s responsible for my long term disability.
I’ve been so debilitated for so many years that it’s been impossible for me to return to work or employment of any kind.
I’ve certainly given and continue to give it all of my best efforts but I have so many different debilitating symptoms that it has made it impossible to manage and be able to do much of anything including work.
Fortunately, I had private disability income insurance so I could provide for myself financially until I was 65 years old when my policies coverages expired.
I would never have made it without my disability insurance and would have ended up homeless because I couldn’t take care of myself for many years.
If you can’t work and you’re too debilitated to care for yourself it’s a very untenable position to be in.
Fortunately, I had a very loving and committed wife who took care of me full time for the first 11 years of my total disability, unfortunately, my condition was so bad that it was extremely stressful on her and when her health and overall wellbeing began to fail we separated. Even though we still loved each other very much I couldn’t put my wife’s life and well-being in jeopardy. Sometimes you have to make decisions you don’t want to make but you know it’s the right thing to do. It took her 3 years to recover physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually from the incredible amount of stress she had been under. I will be forever grateful to her because she saved my life and gave me the opportunity to survive which I could not have done without her incredible endurance and commitment to my life. Even though I was only 36 years old when I first became ill and debilitated I was existing in life like a 90 year old man on his death bed. Had I not actually experienced the past 30+ years I would never have believed or even conceived of the fact that one could be so devastatingly debilitated and survive. It’s taken everything I’ve had and have learned to make it to this stage in my life.
Although nobody wants to get or live with a cancer diagnosis and treatment regime, my cancer experience has been much easier to live with than my past and continuing disabilities.
I wish all of my fellow Prostate Cancer patients and Cancer Patients of all kinds for a total remission and complete wellbeing.
GODSPEED

Jump to this post

Thank you for sharing and wow what an amazing wife and that’s love🙏🏽all the best to you sending prayers for your health and wellness💚

REPLY
retireddoc | @retireddoc | Dec 20, 2023

I was diagnosed with G9 about 2 years ago and had very limited spread to a single bone site and single pelvic node. Had radiation and chemo. But the treatment that caused the most side effects was the Lupron as you describe. I had the usual fatigue, muscle loss and hot flashes but the mental fog and loss of concentration was big for me. I'm on long term disability currently. I had no problem with my docs signing off on it.

REPLY
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Dec 21, 2023

Here is a related discussion in the cancer support group too:
- Is anyone else with cancer getting disability?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/is-anyone-else-getting-disability/

REPLY
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