Cancer Legal Resource Center
| Introduction | Educational Materials | 2010 Cancer Rights Conferences | Teleconferences & Webinars | Health Care Professionals | Professional Panel | Externships & Volunteers | Upcoming Events | In the News | Past Events | CLRC en Español
2010 Cancer Rights Conferences
Introduction to the CLRC
The Cancer Legal Resource Center (CLRC) is a joint program of the Disability Rights Legal Center and Loyola Law School. The CLRC provides free and confidential information and resources on cancer-related legal issues to cancer survivors, their families, friends, employers, health care professionals, and others coping with cancer.
A cancer diagnosis can carry with it a variety of legal issues, including insurance coverage, employment discrimination, access to health care, and estate planning. These legal issues can cause people unnecessary worry, confusion, and stress, and can be overwhelming. When these legal issues are not addressed, people may find that although they have survived the disease, they have lost their homes, jobs, insurance, or families.
Where Do You Turn For Help?
The CLRC has a national, toll-free Telephone Assistance Line (866-THE-CLRC) where callers can receive free and confidential information about relevant laws and resources for their particular situation. Members of the CLRC's Professional Panel of attorneys, insurance agents, and accountants can provide more in-depth information and counsel to CLRC callers.
In July of 2009, the CLRC received its 30,000th call to its Telephone Assistance Line (866-THE-CLRC). Since its founding in 1997, the CLRC remains unique, providing invaluable cancer-related legal information and resources to people nationwide. The success of the Center's work is reflected in the enormous need for the information they provide. Throughout its 12-year history, the CLRC has served over 153,000 people through the Telephone Assistance Line, conferences, seminars, workshops, outreach programs, and other community activities.
CLRC staff members also speak at seminars and outreach events in the cancer community, across the nation, including trainings for health care professionals. If you would like CLRC staff to attend your next event, please complete our Speaker Request & Material Order Form or call us at (213) 736-1331 or (866) 843-2572.
Staff
Joanna Fawzy Morales, Esq., Director
Tiffany Sirikulvadhana, Esq., Staff Attorney
Dianne Prado, Esq., Staff Attorney
Jennifer Chayo Fenton, JD,
Outreach and Education Coordinator
Sarah Semrow,
Advocacy and
Outreach Coordinator
Maria Badillo, Intake Coordinator
Angelica Corral, Administrative Assistant
Monica I. Fawzy, Esq., Attorney
Contact
Toll Free #: (866) THE-CLRC or (866) 843-2572
Phone: (213) 736-1455
TDD: (213) 736-8310
Fax: (213) 736-1428
Email: CLRC@LLS.edu
Telephone Assistance Line Intake Form Available Online!
The CLRC Telephone Assistance Line is open Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM Pacific Standard Time. If you reach our voicemail during business hours, we are assisting other callers. However, we now have an intake form available online. The intake form asks for information about the issue with which you would like assistance. If you would like to fill out an intake form and email, fax, or mail it back to us, this will help us to assist you in a timely manner.
To download the intake form, click here
Click here to fill out and submit the intake form online now!
About the CLRC
CLRC Overview 2008 (English) Transcript
CLRC Information Sheet (English)
CLRC Telephone Assistance Line Statistics 2007
CLRC Educational Materials and Seminars
Click here to access CLRC educational materials and seminars on national and state topics such as health and disability insurance, finances, estate planning, employment, navigating managed care, and more!
The Manual: A Legal Resource Guide for People with Cancer in California
The CLRC has designed a legal guide for people coping with cancer with information about employment, taking time off work, disability insurance, health insurance, how to ensure your treatment gets paid for, estate planning, and legislative advocacy. While this manual is specific to California, it contains practical information that applies to everyone and gives you an idea of what to look for in your own state. Funding for this guide was provided, in part, by the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Chapter One: Employment Rights
Chapter Two: Taking Time off Work
Chapter Three: Disability Insurance
Chapter Four: Health Insurance
Chapter Five: How to Ensure Your Treatment Gets Paid For
Chapter Seven: Legislative Advocacy
Coming soon: The National Manual: A Legal Resource Guide for People with Cancer
Teleconferences & Webinars
Click here to register for a free upcoming Teleconferences & Webinar
The CLRC has a new teleconference and webinar series for 2009. Teleconferences and webinars are open to cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, health care professionals, and others coping with cancer. People can participate for free, by phone or online.
Teleconference and Webinar Flyer
CLRC 2010 Webinar Series - coming soon!
The Cancer Legal Resource Center Chronicle
September 2009 |
September 2009 |
March 2009 |
May 2008 |
September 2008 |
August 2007 |
Public Policy and Legislative Advocacy
Similar to the way that cancer can be a legal issue, cancer is also a political issue. Make your voice heard. Participate in legislative advocacy on your own or join a cancer organization's legislative advocacy efforts. Visit our Legislative Advocacy page for more information on how you can make a difference!
Federal and California Bills Supported by the CLRC in 2009
CLRC Supporters
The CLRC is supported by the National Home Office of the American Cancer Society, the California Division of the American Cancer Society, Loyola Law School, the Disability Rights Legal Center, the California Office of the Patient Advocate, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, several affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, other grants, and individual donations.
As the CLRC provides free services to people coping with cancer, the CLRC is only able to continue providing these services because of grants and generous donations from individuals like yourself. For information on how your gift to the CLRC will help us provide valuable services to the cancer community, click here.
Please consider making a donation to the CLRC today.
The CLRC is seeking attorneys with experience in employment, health insurance law, estate planning, government benefits, or family law to join its Professional Panel and help people navigate their cancer-related legal concerns. A volunteer attorney can make the difference!
More Information on the CLRC Professional Panel
CLRC Professional Panel Application - Join Today!
The CLRC is currently looking to fill extern and law clerk positions for the coming year. Law students receive training in cancer rights law and gain “hands-on” experience assisting people coping with cancer. You can also enhance your research and writing skills by drafting correspondence and conducting legal research
More Information on CLRC Externships
Enrich your law school experience and join us in this worthwhile program!
Volunteers
The CLRC also needs volunteers! If you are interested in helping out in the CLRC office or in attending community events as a representative of the CLRC, please call Sarah at (213) 736-1331.
Students can also fulfill their volunteer or pro bono hours by working for the CLRC. Click here for a pro bono volunteer application.
Upcoming Events
Click here for an up-to-date list of CLRC events
The Wellness Community Launches National Education Program Addressing Cost of Cancer Care
Doctors Paid to Aid in Disability Denials
Ill Workers Denied Benefirs Face Fight Alone
The Cancer Legal Resource Center Director, Joanna Morales, and Disability Rights Legal Center Executive Director, Paula Pearlman were featured on the Stupid Cancer Radio Show talking about recent updates in the law that benefit young people with cancer. Listen now! Click here
Cancer Legal Resource Center Receives Lance Armstrong Foundation 2009 Community Program Grant
Loyola Law School's In Brief: Getting to Know the Cancer Legal Resource Center
Legal Protection in the Workplace and in Health Insurance
Fighting to Live, Remain Insured
Cancer & Careers: Cancer on a Shoestring
Despite Cancer, Many Keep Careers Healthy
The conference was held on October 17, 2009, at the Hoag Hospital Conference Center in Newport Beach. People came from throughout the United States to learn about cancer-related legal issues at this all-day conference. The conference was attended by patients, survivors, caregivers, healthcare providers, advocates, employers, business and community leaders, and others interested in learning about the legal rights of people with cancer.
We would like to express our appreciate to all those who helped make the 2009 Cancer Legal resource Center’s Cancer Rights Conference a smashing success. We would especially like to thank our presenting sponsors for their support!
Cancer Rights Conference - Los Angeles 2008
On the Loyola Law School campus located in Downtown Los Angeles, the CLRC hosted their 2008 Cancer Rights Conference. Open to the public, the event attracted cancer patients, survivors, family, friends, caregivers and healthcare providers. This unique conference was geared to educating people on the different issues affecting the cancer community and informing them of the resources and options available to assist with navigating through cancer-related legal issues.
Attendees were able to listen to numerous seminars scheduled throughout the day. Topics included: employment and taking time off work, health and disability insurance, navigating through managed care, Medicare and Medi-Cal, estate planning and legislative advocacy. Furthermore, in a rare opportunity, participants were able to meet individually with CLRC staff attorneys to address their personal legal questions.
Cancer Rights Conference - Inland Empire 2008
Each year, the CLRC’s Telephone Assistance Line receives an increasing number of calls from the Inland Empire in California. Due to the demand for information and resources in this area, the CLRC coordinated a second Cancer Rights Conference in 2008. Held on March 15th at California Baptist University in Riverside, CA, the conference brought legal information and resources to cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, health care professionals, and anyone coping with cancer. The most popular seminars were “Health and Disability Insurance” and “Medicare & Medi-Cal.” Once again, attendees got the opportunity to speak individually with an attorney from the CLRC. We send our appreciation to the Disability Rights Legal Center, the California Office of the Patient Advocate, and the Inland Empire and Los Angeles County Affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® for sponsoring these Cancer Rights Conferences.
Komen Community Challenge 2008
The CLRC rose up to meet the Komen Community Challenge 2008. On January 17-18, 2008, the CLRC went to Sacramento to join the “Close the Gap” rally, concert, lobby day, and conference aimed at obtaining equal access to screening and treatment for underserved women. The events focused on the Every Woman Counts program, which due to exclusionary requirements, limited allocation of funds, and outdated policies, leaves thousand of women in California without the means to get screening and treatment for breast cancer. Amongst the requests during lobby day, was additional funding to cover more eligible women, moving to a case-driven model that would discontinue the practice of turning away eligible women because of a lack of funds, and to include women between the ages of 38 and 40 in the program. Finally, seeing as how the Every Women Counts program only reimburses providers for analog mammography, they asked requested reimbursement of digital mammography, as well.
California Conference on Women 2007
14,000 guests gathered at the Long Beach Convention Center for the 21st Annual California Governor’s Conference on Women, held on October 23, 2007. Among the stellar conference speakers, were Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman, the spouses of the leading presidential candidates from each party – Elizabeth Edwards, Cindy McCain, Michelle Obama, Ann Romney and Jeri Thompson – ABC News Correspondent Deborah Roberts and White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers. Like many of the exhibitors present, the CLRC was able to expand its reach by networking with other leading community groups and learn about other services that could help our callers. Ultimately, the CLRC was also able to reach a number of people facing cancer themselves or their loved ones, and give them valuable and empowering information.
Bob Cooney Golf Tournament 2007
On September 30th, 2007, the Loyola Law School held its 10th Annual Bob Cooney Golf Tournament at the Coyote Hills Golf Course in Fullerton, CA. Named after the retired associate dean of Loyola Law School for Business Affairs, the Bob Cooney Golf Tournament raised $15,000 for the Cancer Legal Resource Center. This same year, the CLRC celebrated its 10th anniversary and reached over 75,000 people through its Telephone Assistance Line, cancer rights educational seminars, and community outreach events. Thanks to the funds raised at the tournament and other donations and grants, the CLRC has continued to reach out into the community and serve an increasing number of callers from all over the nation seeking assistance with their cancer-related legal issues.
On the balmy summer evening of August 4th, 175 people gathered outdoors at the Loyola Law School campus, designed by Frank Gehry, to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Cancer Legal Resource Center. Attendees enjoyed a night of guilt-free accessible gaming and a spectacular Chopin martini bar generously sponsored by Moet-Hennessey. Players tested their luck at Craps, Roulette and Blackjack, while more serious card sharks engaged in a Texas Hold ‘Em Poker tournament. Braille cards were used for all card games, an ASL interpreter was available, and all tables were wheelchair accessible.