Veterans need your help, and your involvement could be life-changing for them. Every year, approximately 50,000 veterans get a cancer diagnosis, and considering their aging population, this number will only get bigger in the coming years.
If every person in the US donated only $5, we would have more than $1.6 billion in a day. Of course, not everyone can donate, but it’s just an example to give you an idea of ‘working together’.
When we think individually, we might see ourselves as a meaningless part of it all. However, when we come together, we can make everything happen.
Get Involved to Help Military and Vet Cancer Victims
Military vets are exposed to conditions that no one else is. Agent orange exposure, burn pit exposure, drinking contaminated water, and being exposed to radiation — these tough individuals get to see the toughest side of life.
However, all of this exposure to toxic chemicals, contaminated groundwater, radiation, burn pit smoke, and more takes a toll on their health at a time when they are least prepared.
Cancer of the respiratory system remains common in military vets. Veterans Affairs has also admitted that prostate cancer, myeloma, and leukemia are other cancer types much higher in veterans than in general population.
Here are some conditions that veterans are suffering from and for which they are looking for disability benefits.
- Lung cancer
- Leukemia
- Bladder cancer
- Scleroderma
- Miscarriages
- Breast cancer
- Renal toxicity
- Kidney cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Soft tissue sarcoma
- Hodgkin’s disease
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Brain cancer
- Melanoma
- Pancreatic cancer
- Glioblastoma
- Gastrointestinal cancer
- And many more.
Many of these conditions cause complete disability i.e. preventing veterans from performing daily functions or getting employment. You can help these affected individuals get access to the care they deserve.
Despite all of its efforts, the department of veterans affairs cannot provide care to all of these servicemen and servicewomen. That’s where you come in.
Here is how you can help disabled American veterans in their toughest days after their active military service.
Volunteer to Help Physically
You can help suffering military service members by volunteering to help them physically. You can be with them at a time when they need someone the most. You can volunteer with various online organizations that are engaged in helping veterans who need cancer care.
American Cancer Society, Cancer Action Network, Zero Cancer, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Fisher House Foundation, etc. are just a few names that could use your help.
Offer Financial Assistance
The organizations stated above give cancer care to patients in many ways. You don’t have to offer a huge pile of money to help veterans and their family members. You just have to make a small donation to a charity that helps them with medical care and more.
These organizations have more resources than you might think. From helping them with medical bills and medical insurance to providing them with free rides to get to treatment centers, these nonprofits can help veterans in hundreds of ways.
Every small donation you make matters and could help a veteran get cancer treatment or health insurance they so direly need. You can donate to support Paul Ehline Annual Ride on its GoFundMe page too
Be There for Moral Support
You can be there for a veteran for moral support. You can give any veteran moral support through online channels. For example, if there is a fundraising event for veterans, you could just be there for support.
For example, you can attend the Paul Ehline Annual Ride and be a part of a gathering that not only shows its support to veterans but also honors a fallen hero i.e. Michael Ehline’s father, retired marine, Paul Ehline.
You can also become part of the cancer care support groups frequently formed by the nonprofit organizations stated above.
Disabled American Veterans Need You After Their Military Service
Cancer has become a major military concern, especially after Veterans Affairs has included so many serious conditions on its list of presumptive conditions.
Despite all the VA Facilities that the department is willing to offer, one cannot ignore the fact that service members are suffering from serious medical conditions. Many veterans don’t even know they have cancer, especially in the case of prostate cancer that continues to live undetected for years.
These veterans are fighting a wide array of cancers, ranging from skin cancer to lung, prostate, breast, and kidney cancer.
Also, the families of these veterans need your help. Many of these families are living in conditions that need to be improved. All these families need to know is that they can apply for benefits and compensation as survivors of a veteran.
Help Paul Ehline Ride Spread Awareness
Michael Ehline helps make the Paul Ehline Annual Ride possible because he has seen his father suffer from cancer. He knows there are many other marines like him who could get assistance and live better lives if they got the care they need at the right time.
Michael Ehline doesn’t directly help veterans or cancer patients get treatment, but he can provide them with resources that can help them access the health benefits they deserve.
Through this ride, he’s spreading awareness and also accepting donations to help veterans. As for him, he leads law a personal injury law firm where he represents people who have had a motorcycle accident or some other accident that caused personal injury.
