Can my husband apply for SSDI with Lymphoma under Compassionate Allowance while still working?
I need urgent advice about Social Security Disability for my wife (58) who was just diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Her oncologist says treatment will be aggressive and last at least 8-10 months. I've been researching and found that certain cancers qualify for the Compassionate Allowances program, which supposedly fast-tracks SSDI approval. Her doctor mentioned this might apply to her situation. The problem is she's still working reduced hours from home (about 15 hours/week) because we desperately need the income while waiting for disability approval. Will this disqualify her from applying? Does she need to completely stop working before she can apply for SSDI? We're so confused about the process and can't afford to lose her income entirely without knowing when benefits might start. Has anyone navigated this situation with Compassionate Allowances and working part-time?
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Kiara Fisherman
You absolutely CAN apply while she's still working, but there's an important distinction. The key factor is whether she's earning above what Social Security calls "Substantial Gainful Activity" (SGA). For 2025, that amount is $1,550 per month for non-blind individuals. If she's earning less than that SGA amount, she can apply for SSDI even while still working those reduced hours. The Compassionate Allowance for Lymphoma will speed up the medical approval process, but the earnings test still applies. My advice: Apply immediately. Don't wait. The Compassionate Allowance program is specifically designed for serious conditions like hers where time is critical.
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Liam Cortez
•My brother got cancer had same thing. He work 2 days a week still got approved under that compassion thing. took like 5 weeks not 5 months like regular disabilty. good luck!!
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Savannah Vin
I went through almost the EXACT thing with my husband last year!!! Stage 3 lymphoma and we were terrified about income too. The compassionate allowance is REAL but there's still paperwork and it's not instant money. Here's what we learned the hard way: 1) APPLY NOW!!! Don't wait until she stops working 2) There's a 5 month waiting period before SSDI pays even with compassionate allowance 3) They count the waiting period from when her income drops below the SGA ($1,550/month) 4) The approval might be fast but getting paid takes time! We regret waiting 2 months to apply thinking he needed to completely stop working first. DON'T MAKE OUR MISTAKE!
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Jason Brewer
•Thank you so much for sharing your experience. This is exactly what I needed to hear. Did your husband continue working part-time during the application process? And did they give you any trouble about that during the application?
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Mason Stone
Sorry about your wife's diagnosis. Went through similar with my mom. Just wanted to add that when your applying make SURE you get all medical records from ALL doctors involved. My mom got denied initially bcuz they said not enough evidence, even with compassionate allowance! Had to appeal and submit more records. Get EVERYTHING - lab reports, oncology notes, treatment plans - before u submit.
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Jason Brewer
•That's really helpful advice. I'll make sure to gather all her medical documentation. Did your mom eventually get approved? How long did the whole process take?
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Makayla Shoemaker
Everyone here is giving good advice about the SGA limits but DON'T FORGET about the 5 month waiting period!!! Even with compassionate allowance approved quickly you still have to wait 5 months from onset date before getting paid. Plan for this gap!!! This is why you should apply immediately.
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Christian Bierman
•This is accurate information. With Compassionate Allowances, the medical decision is expedited, but the standard SSDI rules about waiting periods still apply. There's the 5-month waiting period before payments begin, and also the 24-month waiting period before Medicare eligibility (counting from when SSDI entitlement begins). I'd recommend planning finances with these timeframes in mind, as even the fastest approvals won't provide immediate financial relief.
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Emma Olsen
When my cousin got approved through Compassionate Allowance for advanced cancer, we were stuck in endless phone loops trying to check on status and get questions answered. It was maddening! Finally someone told us about Claimyr.com, which got us through to an actual SSA representative in about 15 minutes instead of waiting days. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU It made a huge difference in getting updates and making sure everything was moving forward properly. Just sharing because the waiting and uncertainty is the hardest part.
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Jason Brewer
•Thank you for this tip! The waiting and uncertainty are definitely the hardest parts. I'll check out that service if we start having trouble reaching someone at SSA.
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Kiara Fisherman
One more important thing: make sure your wife's doctor explicitly states in their medical notes that her condition meets the Compassionate Allowance criteria for Lymphoma. The report should specifically mention: 1. The exact diagnosis (type of lymphoma) 2. The stage (Stage 4) 3. Treatment plan and prognosis 4. Functional limitations preventing full-time work Having this documentation clearly stated helps trigger the Compassionate Allowance fast-track automatically in their system. Sometimes applications get missed for expedited processing if the medical documentation isn't explicit enough.
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Mason Stone
•YES THIS!! My moms denial happened bcuz doc just wrote "lymphoma" without staging or treatment details. Be SUPER specific. When we appealed with better documentation it was approved in 2 weeks.
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Lucas Lindsey
YOU KNOW WHAT NO ONE IS SAYING??!! That the whole "Compassionate Allowance" thing is STILL gonna take MONTHS!!! My husband had pancreatic cancer (stage 4) which is SUPPOSED to be one of those "automatic" approvals and it STILL took 14 weeks to get approved!!! And then 5 more months before he saw a DIME!!! By then he was... well I won't get into that. But don't count on the government to help in any kind of reasonable time frame!!! The system is BROKEN!!!
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Savannah Vin
•I'm so sorry for your loss. You're right that even "fast track" still takes time - our experience was about 10 weeks for approval, then the waiting period. It's not fast enough when someone is seriously ill. ❤️
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Jason Brewer
Thank you all so much for your advice and sharing your experiences. We're going to apply immediately and make sure her doctors document everything thoroughly. I've already started gathering all her medical records. One last question - does anyone know if private disability insurance through her employer affects the SSDI application? She has some short-term disability coverage through work.
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Christian Bierman
•Great question. Private disability insurance doesn't affect SSDI eligibility. She can receive both simultaneously, though many private policies reduce their benefit by the amount received from SSDI (this is called an "offset"). Definitely have her apply for the short-term disability through her employer immediately. This can provide income during the SSDI waiting period. Just be aware that she'll need to report any SSDI payments to the private insurer once those begin, as specified in her policy.
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Amara Okafor
I'm going through a similar situation with my sister right now. She has Stage 4 ovarian cancer and we just got her SSDI approved through Compassionate Allowance last month - took about 7 weeks from application to approval letter. A few things that really helped us: 1) We applied online at ssa.gov - it was faster than going to the office 2) Her oncologist wrote a detailed letter specifically for the disability application explaining her prognosis and limitations 3) We made sure to include ALL treatment records, not just the diagnosis The key thing about working - she was doing freelance work (about $800/month) when we applied and it didn't hurt the application at all since it was under the SGA limit. They actually told us it was better to apply while she still had some work history rather than waiting. One tip: when you apply online, there's a section where you can upload documents. We scanned and uploaded everything immediately rather than mailing it later. I think this helped speed things up. Best of luck to you both. The waiting is horrible but don't give up hope.
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