Testicular cancer and cancer treatments can cause physical impairments that make working difficult—at least for a while. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has two disability programs that pay benefits to individuals who can't work due to medical conditions like testicular cancer:
While the two programs have different financial and work history requirements, the medical requirements are the same. Read on to learn how to qualify for Social Security or SSI disability benefits for testicular cancer.
Testicular cancer, as the name suggests, is cancer that grows in the tissue of one or both testicles. The testicles are located in the scrotum, beneath the penis. Two main types of cancer can occur there:
Stromal tumors can also develop in the testicles, and although they're often harmless, they can be cancerous. There are two kinds of stromal tumors:
Cancer can also spread to your testicles from another part of your body (called "secondary testicular cancer"). The most common type is lymphoma.
To qualify for disability benefits for testicular cancer, you must prove one of the following:
Social Security has a list of impairments the agency considers serious enough to qualify for benefits. If your condition meets the requirements of a listing, you'll win your claim.
To meet the requirements of the testicular cancer listing (listing 13.25), you must prove you have a cancerous tumor that's spread beyond your testicle(s) or recurred despite an initial round of chemotherapy. To prove you meet the listing, your medical records must include:
Your testicular cancer might also meet other listings. For example, anyone who's had a stem cell transplant (sometimes used in recurrent testicular cancer) automatically meets listing 13.28, "cancer treated by bone marrow or stem cell transplantation." So, if your battle against testicular cancer includes a stem cell transplant, you'll meet the listing for 12 months after your procedure.
If you've had long-term side effects from your cancer treatments, including hearing loss or kidney problems, you might qualify for the listings under the affected body part. (Learn more about which conditions are listed conditions).
You might qualify for disability benefits even if your condition doesn't quite match a listing—if it's considered equally severe to a listing. For instance, if your testicular cancer was treated with radiation or surgery rather than chemotherapy and has still spread, you'll likely be able to "equal" the testicular cancer listing.
(Learn more about how to qualify for disability by equaling a listing.)
If you don't meet or equal a listing, you might qualify for benefits by showing that you can no longer work. But you'll need to prove that the symptoms and limitations of your testicular cancer mean:
Social Security will look at your symptoms and limitations (physical, mental, and sensory) in a residual functional capacity (RFC) assessment to determine whether you can work.
There are many symptoms of testicular cancer that can be severe enough to affect your daily functioning, including:
The treatments for testicular cancer often have side effects that can impair your physical abilities, including:
Long-term side effects from testicular cancer, including nerve or lung damage, can permanently affect your ability to do physical work. And the long-term effects of cancer treatment can impair sensory capabilities, like hearing and nerve sensations, which can affect your ability to perform some jobs.
It's also not uncommon for cancer patients to develop mental conditions like anxiety or depression. Be sure to tell Social Security if you have even a moderate mental condition, as having both mental and physical impairments can help your disability claim. (Learn more about getting disability with multiple impairments.)
If your physical and/or mental limitations caused by testicular cancer last a year or more, Social Security might agree that there's no work you can still do.
If Social Security finds that you're disabled due to testicular cancer, you can receive disability benefits for up to three years after your remission date. If you continue to have limitations after receiving benefits for three years, you can try to qualify for benefits under the specific body part or system that's still impaired.
The fastest way to apply for disability is to complete the online application. You can also call the national office at 800-772-1213 (TTY 800-325-0778) to make an appointment to apply by phone. Or contact your local Social Security office to apply in person.
Learn more about the Social Security disability application process.
Updated February 6, 2024
Need a lawyer? Start here.