What you have to prove
Meet listing via: (1) inoperable or unresectable; OR (2) recurrent after radiation therapy; OR (3) with metastases beyond regional lymph nodes; OR (4) small-cell (oat cell) carcinoma.
Medical evidence SSA expects
Pathology, staging imaging, treatment records (surgery, radiation, chemo), and oncologist notes.
Common misconceptions
Early-stage curable head/neck cancers with surgical/radiation cure don't qualify. HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers have better prognosis and often don't meet listings.
Didn't meet the listing? You can still qualify via a Medical-Vocational
Allowance — SSA's determination that your residual functional capacity, combined with
your age, education, and work history, leaves no jobs you can do. See our
appeals guide for what to do after an initial denial.