Meet Thomas

This story is from Thomas in Georgia. We abolished $468 for him. Thomas is a cancer survivor. Here he describes his commitment to long-term care in order to remain cancer free. “It’s a matter of life and death that I have to stay ahead of”, he says. And yet, this effort is causing him continued financial struggle. Rising and recurring medical expenses are not manageable. Patients do not have affordable options for ongoing care, leaving people overwhelmed.

Thomas shared an emotional struggle as well: his marriage ended due to his medical bills. Decisions, and the way people come to identify themselves, are informed by the permeating presence of insurmountable debt. 

“Thank you for taking the burden of this balance off of my plate. Unfortunately, it’s just a drop in the bucket. As a cancer survivor, annual scans are a part of my new normal. The medical bills are always more than I can handle or afford, but I can’t afford not to get them. It’s a matter of life and death that I have to stay ahead of. There’s always a chance the cancer could come back. I’ve got a lot to live for and would rather medical debt wasn’t a part of my life. 
My marriage suffered (and ended) due to bills from my surgeries, hospitalizations, chemotherapy, radiation, coupled with stress and a lack of communication. I can’t say that things would have been better without the medical bills, but they were worse as a result of them. 
Thank you again for what you all do. It is valuable and makes a difference.”