The many challenges of a blood cancer diagnosis include managing your household finances and healthcare insurance and understanding your rights in the workplace as a cancer survivor or a caregiver.

Applying for health insurance or filing health insurance claims can be a full-time job and extremely overwhelming to a person undergoing cancer treatment. There are many excellent guides and tools available to help patients and their families in working through these challenges and determining which resources are available to them.

If you are employed, check to see if you have extended benefits from your employer, these include short and long-term disability. If you need to be off work, check Employment Insurance-Sickness Benefit. If your condition is severe and prolonged, you may meet the criteria for the Canada Pension Plan disability benefit.

However, the financial programs that you might qualify for may be complex. For further help, reach out to your Patient Education & Support Manager of your local LLSC office, the social worker and other members of your cancer team.

Patients can call on volunteers for support to assist them in managing the maze of health insurance claims, keeping organized records and filing appeals if needed. Many people will come forward when a person is diagnosed and ask, "Is there anything I can do to help?" There are many tedious yet important tasks in keeping health insurance claims in order. Passing them off to a trusted relative or friend can reduce an enormous burden for a patient.