Cancer Legal Resource Center (CLRC) is a program of the Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC), a 501C-3 non-profit, public interest advocacy organization that champions the civil rights of people with disabilities as well as those affected by cancer and other serious illness. DRLC’s Cancer Legal Resource Center provides information through its national telephone assistance line, outreach programs and community activities to educate and to support cancer patients, their families, healthcare professionals and advocates on matters like maintaining employment through treatment, accessing healthcare and government benefits, taking medical leave and estate planning. For a person with a cancer diagnosis, these issues often result in worry and confusion, which can be overwhelming. When left unaddressed, patients may survive treatment to find their homes, jobs or insurance coverage gone. When information is readily and easily accessible, quality outcomes for patient survivorship improve as stress and anxiety decrease.
A grant from TCRF will support CLRC’s Survivorship Navigation Program which focuses on patient education, technical assistance for patients and researchers, and increased access to legal information for underserved communities. The CLRC provides legal information programming including information on access to clinical trials, health insurance appeals, employment navigation. Attorneys answer client questions during one-on-one sessions at Cancer and the Law presentations as well as assisting with cancer-related legal service navigation through the CLRC’s Telephone Assistance Line.