From Cancer Survivor to Social Security Advocate: Therese's Fight for Financial Security

“I wasn’t supposed to live,” Therese says to the shock of her interviewer. “The doctor had told my son he needed to get me ready for hospice. There was no way I was going to survive. Now, the doctor calls me Lazarus.”

At 65, Therese fears little after a hard-fought recovery from cancer and chemotherapy. That mindset led to a week-long solo tent camping trip in the Big Horns and renting out parts of her home as an Air B-n-B.

However, one big concern she has is the impact on her life that cuts to social security could have.

“If there are any changes in Social Security to the detriment of individuals who receive it like myself and others, I’ll lose my house,” Therese said. “The proceeds that would come from selling the house aren’t enough to get me into a retirement home. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and if social security were cut, I don’t know what I would do.”

Therese came to Casper permanently in 2015, after time in Alaska, Wyoming, and Oregon. She earned her BSW from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. When she first came to Wyoming, she was not a Licensed Clinical Social Worker; she only had her BSW. Nevertheless, she was hired as a vocational rehabilitation counselor. After graduate school at the University of Kansas, she left for Oregon to work on a psychiatric ward in an acute medical hospital. The Anchorage, Alaska native was a licensed social worker and counselor in Wyoming before settling in Oregon for 22 years. She had a son and was widowed early. It has been a life devoted to helping others.

“I worked for about 10 years in an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in Oregon hosted through the hospital in Roseburg, Oregon,” Therese said. “I really liked the EAP because it was short-term counseling and you could make some headway with that. I also had a small practice, too. I liked the variety and the constant learning that was required and the constant training that was required. I really liked social work, especially clinical social work because you could see people get well and prosper from it.”

In 2007, Therese “gave up” on Oregon as the recession made life in her professional field difficult. That led to work in a dialysis facility and private practice before coming back to Wyoming, where she had worked in Riverton for five years. The move proved a pretty easy one as she interviewed for and received an offer for a social work job in Casper, then sold her home for full asking price in three days. Her son moved to Casper two years later after finishing school at the University of Wyoming, earning a degree in Environmental Science.

“I consider Wyoming my home,” Therese said. “I’ve traveled to a lot of different places and I am just very comfortable in Wyoming. I may not always like the politics, but I really like Wyoming. The people here are so nice.”

While the move was easy, life hasn’t always been. She wanted to work until she was 70 but retired at age 65 while dealing with cancer, chemotherapy, radiation treatments and then complications after surgery. A life of serving others as a social worker is rewarding emotionally, though it may not be financially. That means Medicare and Social Security took on extra importance, though they weren’t enough. After retiring, Therese started renting out part of her home to travelers. When conversations started about potential changes to Social Security, Therese got nervous.

“If I don’t have the SS I am not able to pay my mortgage and my other bills. That is what scares me,” Therese said. “What it (social security) means to me is being able to live.”

There is good news in Therese's story. She has her last CT scan in July, and if all is well, she will have been five years past her cancer. She is walking a few miles a day, five times a week. She is spending time fly fishing in the sportsman’s paradise of Central Wyoming, gardening, and attending her women’s church group. Therese talks about working in social service and the people she served, particularly dialysis patients who worked in various community jobs but can no longer work due to disability. They are dependent on Social Security and Medicare, as well as, in some cases, Medicaid. The impact of negative changes in the Social Security system will affect the professional middle class, non-professional middle class, and low-income individuals.

“It’s our piggy bank, and to take that away is a major disservice to Americans who have worked within the communities to make things better. It would feel like a punishment for helping others.”