 SSDRC Filing a Social Security Disability Application - How to File & the Information that is Needed by SSA Do you need a Lawyer at the Administrative Law Judge Disability Hearing? Social Security Disability Back pay and How Long it Takes to Qualify for it How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition? What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of benefits If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare? How much is paid for the Social Security Disability Attorney Fee? How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability? How To Get Disability Through SSDI or SSI Approved Should you get Help from a Disability Attorney before the Claim has been Denied? Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability Qualifying for Disability - What is Social Security Looking for? How do I check the status of my Social Security disability claim? What Expenses Will A Social Security Attorney Charge In Addition To The Fee? |
Facts about Metastasis and Filing for DisabilityHow to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits 1) Metastasis, or metastasis disease, is when a disease located in one part of the body spreads to another part of the body, usually a non-adjacent organ. This is most common with cancer, though researchers are currently studying to determine whether other diseases may have this capacity. 2) Metastasis happens when malignant cells break off from the original tumor and enter the lymphatic system and/or bloodstream. This allows for the cancerous cells to end up in the tissues in another part of the body entirely, which is how cancer spreads. This is usually during the late stages of cancer. 3) When a cancerous tumor moves from one part of the body to another, for example, from the colon to the liver, it is called a metastasis tumor, or a secondary tumor. This means that although there is cancer in the secondary part of the body, it did not originate there, and is not that type of cancer. 4) Metastasis is most commonly found in the bones, lungs, brain and liver. 5) It is very common for certain types of cancers to metastasize to certain parts of the body. For example, breast cancer commonly spreads to the bones and it is common for colon cancer to move to the liver, while stomach cancer most often spread to the ovaries. 6) While there are many symptoms of metastasis they can vary greatly and depend upon the location. For example, if metastasis is in the lungs the symptoms may be shortness of breath and cough, while the symptoms for metastasis in the bones may be fracture or bone pain. 7) Oftentimes the metastasis will be found before the primary tumor location. In this case a tissue sample can determine which type of cell has been found, although sometimes the primary location cannot be determined. 8) Metastasis can be treated with one or more of the following treatments: chemotherapy, radiation therapy, radiosurgery, surgery, hormone therapy or biological therapy. Treatment chosen depends on many factors. Unfortunately, metastasis is rarely curable. Can you qualify for disability benefits with this condition? Whether or not you qualify for disability and, as a result, are approved for disability benefits will depend entirely on the information obtained from your medical records. This includes whatever statements may have been obtained from your treating physician (a doctor who has a history of treating your condition and is, therefore, qualified to comment as to your condition and prognosis). It will also depend on the information obtained from your vocational, or work, history if you are an adult, or academic records if you are a minor-age child. The important thing to keep in mind is that the social security administration does not award benefits based on simply having a condition, but, instead, will base an approval or denial on the extent to which a condition causes functional limitations. Functional limitations can be great enough to make work activity not possible (or, for a child, make it impossible to engage in age-appropriate activities). Why are so many disability cases lost at the disability application and reconsideration appeal levels? Speaking as a former Disability Claims Examiner, I can state that there are several reasons: 1) Social Security makes no attempt to obtain a statement from a claimant's treating physician. By contrast, at the hearing level, a claimant and his or her disability attorney will generally obtain and present this type of statement to a judge; 2) Prior to the hearing level, a claimant will not have the opportunity to explain how their condition limits them, nor will their attorney or representative have the opportunity to make a presentation based on the evidence of the case. At the hearing level, of course, this is exactly what happens. And a number of disability representatives will also take such steps even earlier, at the reconsideration appeal level; 3) Disability judges, unlike disability examiners who decides cases at the first two levels of the system, can make independent decisions without being overturned by immediate supervisors--which happens frequently. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Topics and Questions Other Links SSD and SSI are Federal Programs The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here: Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials |