Program helps protect financial health of Dana-Farber patients
Volunteer financial planner Janice Swenor gives advice on managing the economics of cancer.
When Janice Swenor became a financial planner, she was stunned to see the monetary consequences a serious illness can have on people.
"At a seminar I was teaching on money management for women, a 58-year-old attendee told me she and her husband were financially wiped out after he was diagnosed with brain cancer," Swenor recalls.
So when the Financial Planning Association of Massachusetts (FPAMA) offered its members an opportunity to become a pro-bono coach at Dana-Farber, Swenor signed up. She and nine others completed a pilot program in June, aimed at helping eligible patients, families, and survivors – free of charge – manage the economic repercussions of cancer, such as unemployment or excessive debt.
A formal program is now being rolled out through the Institute's new Office of Patient and Family Assistance.
Swenor's first client was a widow who changed careers once her children were grown up. Soon after starting a new job, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to leave because she was not yet entitled to paid time off.
When her cancer treatments at Dana-Farber ended, she could only find a low-paying job and soon fell into serious debt.
First, Swenor helped the woman develop a budget; then she offered long-term advice on housing changes and bankruptcy filing. The client also received funds, through the Office of Patient and Family Assistance, to help repay the student loans she incurred while learning a new profession. "She had recovered her health, but needed help recovering her financial stability as well," says Swenor.
The coaching program is the brainchild of Dana-Farber Trustee Steve Koppel, a volunteer consultant who established a collaboration between Dana-Farber and the FPAMA.
"Financial planners began to step up to the plate as volunteers after the tragedies of Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina," he explains. "My idea was to do something longer term, with cancer patients.
"Cancer is income-blind," he adds. "Families can slip into trouble so easily; for example, they might begin skipping their utility payments to cover medical bills. We can help with very basic needs, such as budgeting, and broader concerns such as debt management, wills, and estate planning."
Financial coaches for Dana-Farber undergo a day of training, in which they get to know one another, learn about the impact of cancer on someone's life, hear from guest speakers on such topics as disability, bankruptcy, and consumer credit, and become familiar with resources and support offered at Dana-Farber and its partners in care.
Potential clients, usually referred by social workers and resource specialists, are matched with a coach within a week after a request. Timing is important; at first, many families are too preoccupied with health concerns to address financial ones.
They meet with coaches once or several times, depending on their needs. All sessions are free.
Like other Dana-Farber support programs, financial coaching helps families address the full picture of life with cancer. "Cancer patients and families often have many burdens beyond the medical ones," Koppel points out.
