Contacting Mortgage Company and Other Lenders

One of the most overwhelming challenges that accompanies a cancer diagnosis is that of finding funds to cover all the normal day-to-day bills and still be able to pay for a fraction of the medical bills that will soon come crushing down upon your life.

Scrambling to keep up with finances

Putting aside all the medical bills, we all have normal everyday expenses in our lives. The car payment, electric payment, water payment, mortgage payment, insurance payment, cable payment, phone payment, and food bill, just to name a few.

And if you are like me, having to retire from your full-time employment and go on disability, the challenges are just beginning. It is very possibly for monthly income to diminish substantially over the course of cancer treatment.

Personally, as an educator/coach, my income plummeted from just over $5,000.00 a month to less than $2,300.00. This hit our family extremely hard, as our bills were set to meet our income. With that income severely compromised, we had to scramble to meet the situation dictated by my cancer diagnosis.

Contacting creditors

One critical piece of advice I may suggest is to contact any and all of your current creditors. It can be helpful to explain to each company your situation and to not be above asking them for any type of assistance they might be able to afford your family.

It has been my experience that most of your creditors do not want to see you fail at repaying your obligation. Warning, however, some will not care in the least what your current situation may be; they want their money, plain and simple. However, for the most part, I found many of my own creditors were willing to help me in some form or fashion.

One very helpful creditor was that of my car loan. This company was very willing to take into consideration my medical situation of having cancer and my huge loss of income. The company was able to lower my car payment by a percentage, and this tiny adjustment aided my family immensely. I was sure to thank them properly at the time and many times since.

Wanting their money

Two creditors who could not have cared less concerning my situation were those of my mortgage and insurance payments. My mortgage lender would not budge an inch when it came to my monthly payment, which through my own fault was a hefty $700.00 a month. They simply did not care that I had a terminal cancer diagnosis; they wanted their money, and they wanted it in a timely fashion.

The life insurance company was even less caring, if possible, than my mortgage company. Not even willing to listen to my medical story, they just wanted their money. Anyone who is suffering from a terminal cancer can report that nothing is as important as your life insurance and ensuring your family has means to survive upon your passing. I must confess, I found this creditor to be the most frustrating to deal with.

Speaking with someone who actually cares

Over the course of your treatment, I humbly suggest you continue to explain your situation to your creditors. If they have indeed assisted you in the past, continue to thank them. You never know, when it comes to those tough nuts, you may finally speak with a person who actually cares.

This was the case with my mortgage creditor. Following years of denial of assistance from the mortgage creditor, I finally spoke with someone who actually cared, and they are in the process of assisting me now. It pays to be consistent in these matters.

Finally, it is my humble opinion that it's good to immediately contact all creditors and seek any assistance they may be able to offer. Cancer adjusted my sense of pride quickly with the appearance of those outrageous medical bills and the huge loss of income. Not every creditor out there is heartless, but be prepared some are.