Some cancers do automatically qualify for a disability benefit. The SSA uses the Blue Book to list many different kinds of medical conditions and decides which automatically qualify for disability benefits. This includes cancers that are aggressive or have shown they are difficult to treat. If you have been diagnosed with one of the following cancers, you should automatically qualify for a disability benefit:
- thyroid cancer,
- sinonasal cancer,
- salivary cancers,
- pancreatic cancer,
- liver cancer,
- inflammatory breast cancer,
- gallbladder cancer,
- esophageal cancer,
- brain cancer,
- any small cell cancer.
How to Automatically Qualify For a Disability Benefit
To automatically qualify for a disability benefit you need to have a condition that is part of the compassionate allowance program. The SSA includes 49 cancers in its Compassionate Allowance Program. 28 of these cancers have a low survival rate.
Anyone who is diagnosed with one of the cancers listed below is automatically eligible to receive fast processing of his or her Social Security disability (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) application:
- 1.acute leukemia,
- 2.adult non-Hodgkin lymphoma,
- 3.bilateral retinoblastoma,
- 4. endometrial stromal sarcoma,
- 5. esophageal cancer,
- 6. ewing sarcoma,
- 7. gallbladder cancer,
- 8. glioblastoma multiforme (adult brain tumor),
- 9. glioma, grades iii and iv,
- 10. hepatoblastoma,
- 11. leiomyosarcoma,
- 12. liver cancer,
- 13. malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumor,
- 14. malignant germ cell tumor,
- 15. mantle cell lymphoma (MCL),
- 16. mucosal malignant melanoma,
- 17. pancreatic cancer,
- 18. peritoneal mesothelioma,
- 19. peritoneal mucinous carcinomatosis,
- 20. pleural mesothelioma,
- 21. primary central nervous system lymphoma,
- 22. primary effusion lymphoma,
- 23. pulmonary Kaposi sarcoma,
- 24. salivary tumors,
- 25. sinonasal cancer,
- 26. small cell cancer of the large intestine, ovary, prostate, or uterus,
- 27. small cell lung cancer,
- 28. small intestine cancer.
Does Cancer Automatically Qualify For a Disability Benefit?
Some cancers are more aggressive than others but if a cancer diagnoses is categorized as aggressive the victim should be eligible for compassionate allowance.
Compassionate allowances are a way to quickly identify diseases and other medical conditions that, by definition, meet Social Security's standards for a disability benefit. These conditions primarily include certain cancers, adult brain disorders, and a number of rare disorders that affect children.
If your cancer diagnosis does not automatically qualify for compassionate allowances, you may still qualify through the application process. You may need to provide more evidence proving your disability such as the results from a Residual Function Capacity (RFC) test conducted by your doctor, which will reveal your ability to move, stand, sit and carry heavy objects.
Get Help With Your Claim
Disability benefits are never easy to win but a lawyer may be able to help with your claim. For example, the lawyer can help you determine if you automatically qualify for benefits. If the type of cancer you have been diagnosed with automatically qualifies you for compassionate allowances it won’t take so long to get your claim approved.
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