April 4, 2016

At 28 years old, the cost of long-term health care was something that had never crossed my mind. It wasn’t until my mother was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer that I began to understand the importance and high price of long-term care.

Facing a frightening diagnosis, my mother strove to hold on to the things in her life she could still control. Staying in her home and remaining as independent as possible were very important to her. At the time of her diagnosis, I was living across the country, but I was able to take time away from work to move back to Connecticut and help her accomplish that goal.

When her illness progressed to the point where she could not care for herself, she was able to afford a live-in nurse who attended to her medical and personal long-term-care needs. If she had been faced with this diagnosis later in life, she would not have been able to afford that luxury.

Source: 
The Seattle Times