Patient Advocacy Stories: Connecting People to Financial Assistance

Jim had been diagnosed with asbestosis 20 years ago and had gotten a small settlement from a small firm back then. He and his wife Carolyn live in Peoria, Illinois, where he spent his career at Caterpillar. When he was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, they came to us through a Doctor Match ad after researching treatment options on their own for a while.

Finding the Right Care

Carolyn wanted a specialist who actually treated this kind of case, not just a local doctor. I recommended Dr. Kindler, and our Medical Outreach team helped get them an expedited appointment so Jim could see someone with experience treating mesothelioma.

Carolyn was also concerned about how they would manage the costs of Jim’s treatment. I explained why the firm that had handled Jim’s asbestosis case years earlier might not have the experience needed for his mesothelioma. I suggested Carolyn speak to experts who knew how to aid mesothelioma patients in getting financial help and could assist her in exploring options for Jim’s situation.

As Carolyn and I talked, our conversations grew to include more than the immediate questions about Jim’s care. She was facing decisions that touched different parts of their lives, and I wanted her to have someone she could talk with as she considered what to do next. For me, that’s an important part of patient advocacy: making room for the concerns that come with a diagnosis, even when they reach beyond the original reason someone called.

Richard was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in March. He and his wife Lynne live in North Port, Florida, though they spent most of their lives in Connecticut. He’d worked in construction for years with direct exposure to asbestos, and he’d also been exposed secondhand through his father’s work.

When I first spoke with Lynne, she was talking with several firms and trying to figure out who could best help Richard.She wanted to make the best decision for Richard, and I wanted her to know that my role was to help them find the financial resources and support they needed, not steer them toward a particular firm. 

I explained that we’re a patient advocacy center, not a law firm ourselves, so my job wasn’t to sell them on any one option. It was to connect them with whoever would do right by Richard’s specific case.

Helping Richard and Lynne With Their Options

I sent Lynne grant information, checked in with her daily, and made sure she knew she could call me anytime. She and Richard decided to move forward with an attorney I connected them with, and he signed the case two days after Lynne first reached out to him.

What made this one stick with me is how much Lynne needed someone in her corner who wasn’t trying to sell her anything. She trusted me because I wasn’t asking her to.

Donald came to us through Danielle first, while he and his wife were waiting on a confirmed diagnosis. I called them the day after that diagnosis came back, and I’ve been his advocate since.

Donald’s a Navy veteran, and he’d already filed his VA claims on his own. What worried him was everything the VA wouldn’t cover. He wanted to look into legal options too, but he told me flat out he didn’t know where to start.

I talked through two options with Donald, taking into account what mattered to him and what he wanted from a firm. I wanted him to have the information he needed to make a decision he felt comfortable with. 

One option was a smaller firm with offices in multiple states, including one near him. The other was a larger national firm that had been handling Navy asbestos cases since the 1980s. Both had strong track records. Donald took some time to consider his options before deciding how he wanted to move forward.

Weighing Different Legal Options

I stayed in touch as Donald and his wife considered their options, making sure they knew they could come back to me with questions or concerns. Donald’s wife was considering a firm that had helped a friend through his own mesothelioma case. I understood why she wanted to follow a recommendation from someone they knew and trusted. 

When she later came across a news article about a lawsuit filed against that firm, she had new concerns and wanted to revisit their options. I was glad she felt comfortable coming back to me to talk through those concerns.

When I learned that having a connection to the military might matter to Donald, I shared that one of the lawyers they’d spoken with was a veteran himself. That gave them another perspective to consider as they decided what felt right for their family.

Talking with the lawyer gave Donald a chance to ask questions and get to know the person who would be handling his case, helping him feel more comfortable with his decision. I was glad I could be there to help Donald and his wife work through their concerns and feel good about the decision they made.

Daniel was 32 when he was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in January. He’d grown up in an older home, and he later told me his grandfather and aunt had both had mesothelioma too.

Daniel had requested our Meso Care Kit in June, and I wanted to make sure he received it. When I couldn’t reach him using the phone number he’d provided, I worked to find the right number so we could connect and get him the kit he’d been waiting for. He’d been waiting on the chemo kit to help him through treatment, and once we connected, that’s what got the conversation started.

Helping Daniel With Financial Concerns

Daniel wasn’t sure at first about pursuing legal help or exactly how he’d been exposed to asbestos. As we talked, he opened up about the financial pressure he was under and how hard it was to keep up with his bills while dealing with his diagnosis.

I wanted to help him explore options for financial relief, so I connected him with an attorney who understood the complexities of coping with mesothelioma and could talk through his situation and what help might be available. I kept in touch with Daniel because I wanted him to know he had someone in his corner as he looked for ways to ease some of the financial pressure he was facing.

Helping him meant more than pointing him toward someone else. It meant listening to what he was going through, taking his concerns seriously and staying involved as he explored his options.

Herbert was 79 and a Navy veteran who had already done a lot of research before calling me. He’d spoken with four law firms and had one in mind when we first talked. I wanted to hear about his time in the Navy, what he knew about his asbestos exposure and what mattered most to him as he considered his options.

Matching His Navy Experience

As Herbert shared more about his Navy experience, I thought of an investigator who had served on the same kind of ship and could relate to the details of his service. I told Herbert why I thought that connection could be valuable, and he asked me to connect them so he could explore the option. They spoke, and Herbert had the chance to discuss his experience with someone who understood that part of his life.

What stood out to me about Herbert was how much thought he’d already put into finding the right help. He knew what he wanted and had taken the initiative to speak with several firms before reaching out to me. My role wasn’t to start his search over. It was to listen to what mattered to him, draw on what I knew and help him consider whether there was someone who could relate to his Navy experience in a more personal way.

I first spoke with Bill 8 years ago. He was a veteran in his late 80s with no family, and we talked every week for a long time, often for about 30 minutes at a time. 

Our conversations started with questions about diet and nutrition as he went through chemotherapy in California, where he lived. Over time, those regular calls gave me a chance to get to know him and what mattered to him.

Making Sure His Friend Was Taken Care Of

Bill didn’t have family, but he had a lady friend, as he called her, and he wanted to make sure she’d be taken care of if anything happened to him. He asked me to help him find someone who could talk with him about pursuing compensation and making that possible for her. I helped connect him with the right people, and once things were in place, he thanked me for helping him find that support.

He knew he might not have a lot of time left, and Bill wanted to use the time he had to make sure someone he cared about would be OK. Bill wasn’t thinking about what compensation could do for him. He was thinking about his friend and what would happen to her if he were gone. I’ve thought about Bill many times over the years. Our weekly conversations started with questions about nutrition and getting through treatment, but what stayed with me was how much he wanted to look out for someone he loved.