Family caregivers are getting the recognition they deserve.  This month, President Obama declared November “National Family Caregivers Month“.  The goal is to pay tribute to the individuals who care for the health and well-being of their relatives and loved one.

This month why not take a little time to show some recognition to the caregivers in your life?  If they need extra support, start a GiveForward page to help gather financial and emotional support.

Often family caregivers take on the role with little or no caregiving background.  If your favorite caregiver needs to find resources that are dedicated to guiding them through the caregiving process we highly recommend checking out our friends at Aging Info USA.  They provide a great resource network full of experts in the caregiving field.

Another great way for friends and family to coordinate ways they can help their loved ones is through the site Lotsa Helping Hands.  Our friends at LHH provide a free community website where friends and family can get organized on the group calendar and share tasks like cooking dinner or giving a loved one a ride to the doctors.  This site is a great way for friends and family to give caregivers a respite from the tasks at hand.

Beyond just the site, Lotsa Helping Hands provides great resources and insights into the live of caregiver.  This month they are teaming up with UnitedHealthcare to provide a Webinar for caregivers and those wishing to support them. During this month’s webinar, you can learn about the most common challenges that family caregivers experience and solutions for caregivers including financial, legal, and advanced planning tips. Register today at www.lotsahelpinghands.com/webinar.

Want the caregiver in your life to know they aren’t alone?  Why not share The Working Caregiver with them?  Written by Susan Avello the blog covers every angle of the life of a working caregiver.  Whether tackling tough topics like coping with Alzheimers or preventing elder abuse or common issues like how someone can balance their work life with their caregiver life, Susan covers the broad spectrum of issues.

These are just a few ways that you can support a family caregiver, but we’d love to hear from caregivers and the people who love them. This month, how are you planning on showing your appreciation to the caregiver in your life?  Or if you’re a caregiver, what is the best way for someone to recognize your dedication?

Photo Courtesy FDNY

On 9/11 when two planes collided with the World Trade Center, the nation held its collective breath, helpless, watching as impossibly fearless firefighters and police officers surged toward the destruction. The images that flashed across our television screens that day seemed horrifying beyond our wildest imagination; a nightmare playing out in real-life.

For many of the firefighters, police officers, paramedics, EMTs and others that so bravely arrived on the scene that day, the nightmare continues even a decade later. In the years following the 9/11 attacks an overwhelming number of cancer cases have been reported amongst firefighters and police officers who worked at Ground Zero.

According to a recent report in the Lancet Medical Journal firefighters who worked at Ground Zero are 19% more likely to have cancer than their colleagues who did not work at the site. The number of NYPD officers that have died of cancer more than doubles the number of officers that died the day of the 9/11 attacks. As they sifted through the rubble rescuing victims trapped beneath the concrete, the first responders were exposed to a toxic cloud of dust that included carcinogens such as asbestos, benzene, and mercury.

However, cancer is not currently on the list of illnesses covered by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, an act that set aside $4.3 billion to help cure, compensate and monitor those suffering from health problems associated with the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath. Although the Lancet study establishes the link between the firefighter’s toxic exposure at Ground Zero and the string of cancer cases among New York firefighters, the study alone may not be enough to persuade federal officials to include cancer as one of the diseases under the Zadroga Act.

According to many medical researchers it may take 20 to 40 years to prove that the cancers are more than just a sad coincidence. However, that won’t stop 9/11 workers advocates who hope the study can convince policymakers to provide funding for medical bills and compensation to those rescue workers suffering from post 9/11 cancer.

Until then, the firefighters and police officers of 9/11 may have to finance their costly battles with cancer out-of-pocket.  As this CNN article details, while some first responders get help, others don’t.  Former 9/11 fireman Ralph Geidel has been forced to spend $100,000 on his medical treatment after he was diagnosed with tongue and neck cancer in 2003 and there are many more first-responders just like him.

Depending on whether you are interested in helping an individual or simply supporting these heroes as whole, there are a few ways that we can help. If you know an individual in need of help, set up a GiveForward page for them.  Often it can be tough for people to ask for help when they need it, but as our co-founder and COO Ethan so eloquently explains here, it is OK to ask for help when you need it.

If you are interested in contributing to a nonprofit, a foundation has been set up to help support the families of the fallen heroes here: http://www.firehero.org/ or check out the U.S. First Responders Association for more ways to help.  In addition, please be sure to check out this guide for donating to 9/11 charities to make sure that donations go where intended.

Ten years ago, we watched helplessly as courageous firefighters and police officers rescued thousands from the rubble.  Now, it’s our time to rescue them.

Health care coverage for laid-off workers is changing and it will impact millions of Americans.   Until last week, government subsidies helped laid-off workers cover health care costs of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).

COBRA gives workers and their families who lose health benefits the right to choose to continue group health benefits provided by their old employer’s health plan for limited periods of time under certain circumstances.

Qualified individuals will be able to continue the health care coverage they had at their old position but they may be required to pay the entire premium for this coverage, and that can range up to 102% of the cost of the health care plan.  Needless to say, this expense is difficult for many laid-off workers to cover.

In February of 2009, Congress approved a subsidy for COBRA premiums that would help those who had been laid-off to cover those COBRA premiums.  This subsidy had been extended three times since then but the subsidy expired last Wednesday.  This means that all laid-off workers who want to take part in the COBRA coverage will now need to cover that expense out-of-pocket.

As it is, new studies have highlighted the struggles that young adults face in getting health care coverage as well as the fact that some even skimp on care because of the cost of health care.  Now the question is, how will losing this COBRA subsidy impact families of those who have recently lost their job?

Here at GiveForward we understand the toll that this kind of expense can take on a family and many GiveForward users are people who have had to figure out how to cover medical expenses after losing their insurance.

But we would love to hear from our users about additional ways they are coping with this change.  Are you or someone you know on COBRA and concerned about the subsidy expiration?  What are you doing to cover these out-of-pocket costs (besides setting up a GiveForward page of course!)?

Image Courtesy WellSpan Health

Cancer patients face dozens of difficult and confusing decisions throughout their treatment.  What treatment approach is best?  Should I get a second opinion?  How am I going to pay for all of this?  Nurse navigators are a fast-growing group of professionals who help patients answer these critical questions.

Recently, this article in the Wall Street Journal highlighted this growing field and how they are helping patients make informed decisions.  So what is a nurse navigator?  Usually they are a professional nurse who helps patients literally navigate the health care system.

Being diagnosed with an illness, like cancer, is a major blow for anyone.  It is difficult enough to deal with the news of diagnosis, when you add on the responsibility of having to sort out appointments, determine the best course of treatment, and figure out how to tell all of your loved ones about the diagnosis, it can become overwhelming very quickly.  That is where navigators come in.  Nurse navigators act as advocates for their patients and help coordinate care while making the treatment process as easy as possible for their patients.

At GiveForward we want to applaud the WSJ for taking the time to recognize navigators and the critical role they play in the lives of those diagnosed with a serious illness.  But the Wall Street Journal isn’t the only one raising awareness of nurse navigators.

Groups like NCONN (National Coalition of Oncology Nurse Navigators) provide a professional space for navigators to gather together and share what they have learned.  This year, GiveForward is honored to be speaking at NCONN’s annual conference, addressing ways that nurse navigators can provide their patients with the best ways to ask for help during a time of need.

But we aren’t the only ones who know how amazing nurse navigators are, so go on and share your favorite story about how a nurse navigator help you or your loved one!

The price of pregnancies may be prompting some parents-to-be to chose a home birth rather than a hospital stay, at least that is what some suggest in a new article by the Huffington Post.

This article explores why 20% more parents are choosing to have a home birth than in 2004.  It talks with one mother who gave birth at home because she and her husband did not have insurance.

About home birth, Becca Seitz of Portland, Ore. says “It was never on my radar, until we couldn’t afford otherwise.  I’m granola but not that granola.  It cost us $3,300 as opposed to over $10,000 in the hospital.”

While some may site the cost of a hospital stay as the reason for their home birth, according to doula Bridget Foley, “cost is definitely an issue, but for most people, not the main reason they consider home births.”  Rather, she says it is a decision that weighs a number of different factors, cost being one of a number of other considerations.

But it is important to recognize that this article raises an issue that an increasing number of Americans are facing – when you bring home baby for the first time, you bring home some pretty serious medical bills as well.  In fact, Thomson Healthcare estimated the average cost of having a baby was over $8,000.

While baby showers and gifts often cover some of the essentials like furniture and diapers, what about covering the expense of the hospital stay?  We are interested in hearing from you – would you or anyone you know consider a home birth because of cost?  Would a fundraiser to help cover the cost of having a baby change this?  Why or why not?

In honor of National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week, we want to share a video put together by some awesome organizations who make it their business to help young adults cope with cancer.

We hope you’ll take a minute this week to help raise awareness of the fact that over 70,000 Americans between the ages of 15 and 40 are diagnosed every year with cancer.

On World Autism Awareness Day, we thought it would be a great time to appreciate that even though there is no cure for autism, the iPad  and its apps are becoming a welcome addition to the repertoire of learning tools for autistic children. One of the most prominent characteristics of children diagnosed with autism is their impairments in communication.  Although traditional methods of therapy will always be crucial in developing better communication and verbal skills, a recent technological advancement is changing the scene.

Since an extra  iPad is not typically incorporated into a family’s budget, many parents of autistic children are seeking other ways to be able to welcome this life-changing tool into their child’s life.  GiveForward allows these families to achieve this dream; and here’s how: read more…

Late last week, LIVESTRONG opened its first LIVESTRONG Cancer Navigation Center in Austin, Texas.  The Center is dedicated to providing free one-on-one support and guidance for anyone affected by cancer.  This move is part of an encouraging new movement in the cancer community.

Lance Armstrong at the new LIVESTRONG Cancer Navigation Center

More and more we’re seeing centers, organizations and even nursing positions emerge that are dedicated to helping patients navigate their way through what happens after a cancer diagnosis.  This includes navigating emotional support, insurance and financial concerns, and treatment concerns to name a few.

Too often, patients are given a diagnosis, told their options and sent home to figure it out on their own.  Navigation centers and nurse/patient navigators are there to provide support and in most cases they quite literally help patients navigate a scary diagnosis.

We here at GiveForward are so excited about this new patient-centric shift in the industry, but our challenge to everyone in the community is, how can we keep it going?  What steps can each of us take to work towards encouraging more navigation centers and nurses for patients across the nation?  We want to hear from people in the cancer community.  What do the next steps look like?

Families traveling to seek cancer treatment can now benefit from the combined efforts of two great organizations.

Compass To Care, The Mike & Sandy Ernsdorff Childhood Cancer Foundation, and Angel Flight Central announced a new partnership earlier this week.  Their combined efforts will serve children with cancer who must travel to receive treatment.

Compass to Care helps families schedule and pay for travel arrangements while seeking treatment, Angel Flight Central provides free flights at times of personal and community crisis.  These two groups are working together to get families to their destinations, set up meals, lodging, and take care of ground transportation.  The work handled by this partnership provides a immense relief for families who are already coping with an overwhelming situation.

A big high five to Compass to Care and Angel Flight Central from the whole GiveForward team, we are so excited to see two such awesome groups working together to help families in need.    Congrats guys!