Help Cindy be a cancer warrior not a lone warrior

“Sometimes bad things have to happen before good things can” - Becca Fitzpatrick, Crescendo.

My name is Cindy Rohlfs, and I am a cancer warrior. My health has been my main focus in these trying times of the pandemic. I am living on my own, and I need help to pay medical bills and other living expenses. I’ve been on my own for several years, and I’m fortunate to have kept my independence. I am also lucky that COVID hasn’t affected me because I’ve had my vaccinations and booster, and I wear a mask. But my health issues mean I am more susceptible to the disease than most people.

A few years ago, I was diagnosed with COPD, but the symptoms and exacerbations worsened. I had to retire in 2019 because of my COPD. Many businesses didn't want their employees working from home at that time. Unfortunately, going into the office was not an option because of the possibility of a severe exacerbation of my disease that sometimes resulted in hospital admission.

I was wondering how I was going to afford to pay rent. But, my ex-husband unexpectedly passed away, and I started receiving SSA survivor benefits. However, my income is too high to get any assistance from Maryland, even though I’m living paycheck to paycheck and barely making ends meet.

In October 2020, I was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer. My hospital bills were high, but I could get insurance through the healthcare exchange. I went through chemotherapy and radiation therapy. That was a difficult time because of having to be my own caregiver. When my chemo and radiation finally ended, I had a CT scan and it showed my tumor was starting to shrink. I started receiving immunotherapy infusions in January and my tumor has been showing signs of shrinking more.

I recently had a mammogram that showed an unidentified mass. The mass turned out to be non-cancerous, so I am thanking my lucky stars that I don’t have to go through any treatments.

I was able to live fairly comfortably on my fixed income...until I turned 65. Federal law says I needed to drop my healthcare exchange coverage and convert to Medicare. I enrolled in Medicare Part A, Part B, a Medicare supplement plan (because of my cancer treatments’ high costs) and a separate prescription drug plan (PDP). Again, my SSA survivor benefits were too much to qualify for any help with food or other living expenses. I had to pay out of pocket for my application and pre-enrollment fees for the Medicare supplement plan. Then, I incurred high premium costs and prescription drug costs. Some of my prescription costs have skyrocketed from $0 to over $400 because I need to meet a deductible and can’t afford that expense. Even though we received a decent cost of living allowance added to my social security, the COLA was consumed mainly by the much higher Part B premium and higher cost of living expenses due to the pandemic and inflation.

Consequently, I missed January’s and February’s rent payments and received an intent to evict letter. I could make a partial payment, but the rental management doesn't accept partial rent payments. Until I attain financial stability, I need some help to pay rent and other expenses. And as of 4/1/2022, I received a summons to appear in court for my apartment eviction. I can’t even pay the court fees.

There are a few things that I need to do. 1) I have a storage unit filled with a lot of stuff. I need to downsize and get rid of most of my things in storage. Because of my health, I can’t do that anymore. I will probably need a professional organizer to go through and catalog my stuff so that I can sell or donate most of them. My storage unit is almost $500 per month. Elimination of that would be a big help financially. 2) I have a vehicle that looks like it has been in a demolition derby. Most of the damage was done while parked in a handicapped spot at the shopping center. I own it outright, so I’m not making payments on it. I need to get bodywork done. I learned that some people don’t care about hitting a car in a handicapped spot. They just drive away. If I could park at the back of a parking lot, I would. But, because of my lung cancer and COPD, I can’t walk through the parking lot. If I could find a body shop to donate the bodywork, I would be grateful. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. 3) Pay the medical bills that are in arrears and future medical bills.

I am applying for working from home jobs to supplement my income. Hopefully, something will come through and I can try to get back on my feet. But until then, I need some help. I have no children and no one else to help me.

Update to my job search: A company contacted me and we scheduled an interview. I did research and found the company was legitimate. Then I researched the hiring manager, and that company employed him. However, after a couple of weeks, I realized that something wasn’t right. So, I contacted some other directors. After talking with one of the directors, it was determined that I was the victim of a scam…<sigh>. Because of bounced checks, my bank account went into a negative balance and included various fees and penalties. So, right now, I can’t pay rent, pay bills, buy groceries or buy needed prescriptions because my account is frozen. My last social security check was direct deposited into the account, but it was applied to the negative balance. It wasn’t enough the cover the entire balance, so I am still without money for expenses. I reported the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice through their online forms. The DOJ will be forwarding my information to local law enforcement, even though I’m not sure it will help. But, you never know.

Any amount you can donate will make a huge difference, no matter how much or how little. I am asking for a lot of money to get what I need to be done. My health prevents me from doing things because my stamina is low. If there is money left over after I get back on my feet, it will be donated to the Tate Cancer Center located at the Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, MD. The oncologists, nurse practitioners and staff have been great throughout this ordeal, and I want to thank them for their help.