Veteran Firefighter Denied Insurance Coverage for Stage 4 Lung Cancer Treatment: ‘I Am Forced to Stand Here and Beg’
AOL.com • • health
Key Points:
- Ken Jones, a retired San Francisco firefighter diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in March 2025, believes his illness resulted from 17 years of exposure to toxic smoke on the job.
- His insurance provider, Blue Shield of California, denied coverage for the necessary chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatment, as well as an appeal filed by his doctors.
- Jones' family has publicly appealed to the San Francisco Health Service Board to intervene, highlighting the life-threatening impact of the denial and the financial burden of approximately $50,000 for treatment.
- Fire Department Chief Jeanine Nicholson and Jones' family emphasize the need for systemic change to ensure firefighters receive adequate healthcare support without having to "beg for their lives."
- A GoFundMe
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