15 Legal Documents for Cancer Patients

Cancer. It is a word you don’t want to think about and a diagnosis you hope you never receive.

Yet today you found out that you do have cancer.

There is so much on your mind right now that some important things may get overlooked.

Here is a list of fifteen legal documents you may need during your cancer treatments and beyond.

Medical Insurance: Most plans require you to sign up every year. Something to remember is when your enrollment period is. If you are on leave from work during your enrollment period, be sure to contact your human resource office to get all the information you need so your insurance coverage does not lapse because of not completing the necessary documents to continue your medical coverage.

Before you take leave from work, you must find out how your benefits will be paid while you are away from work. Will the premiums continue to come out of your paycheck? Will you be responsible to pay the premiums yourself?

Life Insurance: As above, make sure you have everything you need to keep your life insurance policy intact while you are away from work for cancer treatments. If you have purchased life insurance outside of your employment, be sure your premiums are up to date. Also, ensure that your beneficiaries are updated with your insurance company.

Supplemental Insurance: Supplemental insurance is coverage above and beyond basic medical insurance. Some plans pay you a sum for certain medical diagnoses. Be sure to file a claim if you have cancer supplemental insurance. This money will come in handy to cover your expenses while you are away from work.

Something that happened to me when I was on leave from work for cancer treatments was that after my paid time off was exhausted, I had to make my insurance premiums out of pocket myself instead of coming out of my paycheck. I received a bill, but the bill was only for my basic medical insurance. It did not cover my supplemental insurance, so I lost my supplemental insurance due to a lack of payment. I did not realize that this had happened until I went to sign up for medical benefits for the next year and found out that my supplemental insurance had lapsed. Due to a lapse in coverage, I had to wait a whole year before I was eligible to sign up again. (Read: The Day I Met Cancer in the Mirror)

Power of Attorney: There may be times when you need someone to do things for you that you just can’t do for yourself. Take for instance picking up documents from your medical provider that you must sign for. If you are unable to physically go to the provider’s office, your designated person can do so for you by showing them your POA which gives them the authority to act on your behalf.

Durable Power of Attorney: A Durable Power of Attorney designates someone to speak on your behalf and make medical decisions for you if you are not able to make the decisions yourself. An instance when this could come into play might be if you were unconscious for some reason and medical decisions needed to be made for your treatment. Your DPOA designee could make the necessary medical decisions in your stead. Your DPOA designee does not need to be a family member.

Will: If you are undergoing cancer treatments, it is a good idea to ensure your will is up to date. You may want to make out a will if you have not already done so.

Living Trust: As above, if you have a Living Trust, be sure that everything in the trust is up to date, including the beneficiaries.

Living Will: A Living Will is different from a will. A will states who will receive your possessions and investments upon your death. A Living Will states in advance what you want to be done regarding resuscitation such as CPR. Do you want every effort to be made by medical personnel to attempt to revive you if your heart stops beating, or do you want nothing done? This is spelled out in a Living Will.

Advance Directive: An Advance Directive is different from a Living Will in that it states your medical decisions in advance in more areas than just resuscitation. A Living Will can be part of an Advance Directive, but the directive goes further. For instance, when you know your end is near, you may just want pain medication to keep you comfortable until you die, but you don’t want to receive any further medical treatment. These are some of the things included in an Advance Directive.

DNR: DNR stands for Do Not Resuscitate. You may decide you do not want any medical efforts made to try to revive you should you stop breathing and your heart stops beating. This is stated in a DNR. A DNR is different from a Living Will. A Living Will states what medical attempts you want to be done to try to keep you alive. A DNR states that you do not want anything at all done.

Advance Directive: A Living Will and DNR can be part of an Advance Directive, but an Advance Directive can also state things such as if you want a feeding tube or not if you cannot eat. Or perhaps you need to be on a ventilator if your health declines, but you are expected to improve in health and will no longer need the ventilator. An Advance Directive can address to what extent you want to remain on the ventilator if there is no hope of ever coming off it.

Organ Donation: Something to consider when you make out your Advance Directive is organ donation. You may want to discuss this topic with your family members and your cancer support team. Some things to think about include:

Your religion or culture – Does your religion or culture allow organ donation?

Your personal belief – What is your personal feeling toward organ donation?

Your family and support team – What are their thoughts and feelings about you donating your organs?

Whatever decision you make, be sure to include this in your Advance Directive.

Pre-need: Pre-need is where you pay for your funeral costs in advance of your death. Some benefits of this include you get to choose your casket or urn, you can lock in the cost of funeral expenses including opening and closing the gravesite or niche, and you can plan your funeral however you want it to be.

FMLA: By law, Family Medical Leave Act allows certain employees to take up to twelve weeks per year of unpaid leave from their employment for specified medical or family reasons without losing their group health insurance. You will have to fill out papers and have your medical provider complete part of the paperwork. You may be required to give notice to your employer before taking leave.

Medical Authorization for Minors: If your children will need to stay with relatives or a friend during your cancer treatments, or at any time, you may want to have a Medical Authorization for Minors document. A Medical Authorization for Minors spells out what medical treatment you will allow your child to receive and who may deliver that care in your absence.

Pet Care Contract: Consider getting a Pet Care Contract if you need to leave your pets in the care of someone else while you receive cancer treatment.

This is not a complete list of all legal documents relating to issues you may face while going through cancer treatments. Instead, it is a list of some of the more common documents to consider during a crazy and confusing time to make it easier to concentrate on your health.

Wishing you all the best,

Kelly

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Yes, I am a nurse. No, I am not your nurse. The medical topics discussed in this, or any article on this site, are intended to be issues for you to discuss with your medical team if you feel they apply to you. None of the information you are about to read in this article is treatment advice for you from me. I do not have that authority.