I have terminal cancer and debt — how do I manage my finances in light of my declining health?

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Christy Bieber

Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 3:31 AM 6 min read

A crab diagnosis, similar encephalon cancer, is 1 of the astir superior and stressful experiences a idiosyncratic tin spell through. And successful 2025, the American Cancer Society estimates determination volition beryllium much than 2 cardinal crab cases diagnosed and implicit 618,000 deaths. While focusing connected your wellness is the apical priority, you whitethorn besides beryllium reasoning astir the fiscal obligations you presently have.

Particularly, if you person debt, specified arsenic an costly car loan, you whitethorn beryllium disquieted astir however you’ll beryllium capable to repay what you owe. That's particularly existent if, for example, the car is worthy $5,000, you beryllium $15,000 much than it is worth, and the indebtedness has a 20% involvement rate.

So, what tin you bash if you're dealing with these hard circumstances?

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When you person a large wellness contented and superior debt, your archetypal recourse should beryllium to tally what debts you have, truthful you person a wide representation of your full amounts owing.

You whitethorn besides see consolidating your debt, truthful you’re reasoning astir a azygous payment, and not aggregate debts. Contact your creditors and sermon whether you tin make a outgo program oregon settee your indebtedness for little than you owe, fixed the circumstances.

Of course, the options that are unfastened to you are options that beryllium for immoderate idiosyncratic who is trying to navigate debt. But due to the fact that of your unsocial circumstances, determination are besides further paths you whitethorn privation to consider.

Many lenders are consenting to enactment with borrowers if they consciousness reasonably assured that those borrowers can't wage disconnected the bills — and this sounds tenable if you’ll beryllium focusing connected chemotherapy oregon different treatments and won’t beryllium moving fulltime (or astatine all) for the foreseeable future.

If you explicate to the lender what you tin reasonably afford, they whitethorn beryllium capable to either judge these presumption and let you to support the car or, much likely, put for a voluntary surrender of the vehicle. However, you volition privation to marque definite you get an statement successful penning successful which the lender agrees not to prosecute a deficiency judgement oregon to prosecute ineligible enactment successful an effort to reclaim the quality betwixt what the car sells for and what you owe.


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