It’s no surprise that Firefly Sisterhood is all about support: support for women recently diagnosed with breast cancer, support for our Guides, support for our organization (thank you!), and the list goes on. Research has demonstrated the tremendous impact psychosocial support can have on a person’s survivorship, as many of you have experienced first hand. But there’s another type of help for people who have faced a cancer diagnosis with which people in our community may not be familiar.
Lindy Yokanovich was busy practicing law when, in 2004, she made a realization. Over the years, she’d witnessed so many members of her family and others she’s loved face a cancer diagnosis, not know what legal steps to take and, as a result, suffer debilitating consequences. So Lindy decided to take action. “I felt compelled by others’ needless suffering to do something,” she states.
Lindy put her advanced legal skills to work and founded Cancer Legal Line. Established in 2004, Lindy began providing legal care services in 2007 to people in our community with cancer with the use of a simple flip phone. Recently renamed Cancer Legal Care, the organization has grown to include a staff of lawyers, board of directors, and over 70 volunteer attorneys throughout the state, continuing to run under the simple premise that “sometimes a lawyer’s help is exactly what a cancer patient needs to be well.”
Cancer Legal Care provides free legal care to Minnesotans affected by cancer who otherwise have no access to an attorney’s help. Because there are so many legal issues than can result from a cancer diagnosis, including job loss, uninsurability, and bankruptcy, among others, a person’s quality of life is often directly affected by these concerns. Lindy explains, “There’s a huge gap between medical help and legal help. We’re part of a growing movement to bring legal care into the health care realm to create a medical-legal partnership.”
When asked what the organization’s biggest challenge is, Lindy replied, “Getting people to do something proactively before something becomes a big issue. Anything you’re worried about, contact us! Be proactive! We find that once our clients know their legal plans are in place, it boosts their peace of mind and quality of life.” What the team at Cancer Legal Line hears most frequently from their clients is, “I wish I would have called you sooner!”
Could you or someone you know with cancer-related legal questions or concerns benefit from the expertise of a lawyer? Get more information at www.cancerlegalcare.org or call 651-917-9000. Legal care information services are provided free of charge to all Minnesotans in need. Additional legal care services are available to income eligible clients.
Both Firefly Sisterhood and Cancer Legal Care are privileged to be part of the overall care to improve quality of life for more people in Minnesota facing a cancer diagnosis!
This Is Living With Cancer