{"id":543281,"date":"2026-04-21T18:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T18:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/543281\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T18:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T18:27:10","slug":"veteran-battling-stage-4-colon-cancer-says-he-was-denied-healthcare-treatment-by-va-over-his-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/543281\/","title":{"rendered":"Veteran battling stage 4 colon cancer says he was denied healthcare treatment by VA over his income"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A veteran<\/a> diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer was turned away by the Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a> after being told he makes too much money to qualify for healthcare benefits, he has claimed. <\/p>\n

Chuck Brewer, a father and grandfather, was diagnosed with colon cancer with lung metastasis in March, according to a GoFundMe page established by his sister.<\/a><\/p>\n

Brewer joined the Army at 20 years old and served in the 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper. He was stationed in North Carolina and worked as an administrative specialist. After receiving an honorable discharge, Brewer received his degree in social work and spent two decades working in pharmaceutical and medical sales, WKYT reported. <\/a><\/p>\n

In March, Brewer, who lives in Kentucky, was diagnosed with cancer. \u201cIt was very difficult. It was scary at first, but I think I was more scared for my family,\u201d Brewer told WKYT.<\/p>\n

While Brewer has not started chemotherapy, he is currently facing the high costs of other procedures and a monthly ostomy bag. He says he went to the VA office for healthcare support but was told he makes too much money to qualify for benefits.<\/p>\n

\"ChuckChuck Brewer, an Army veteran, says he was told he makes too much money for the Department of Veteran Affairs to help him cover his stage 4 colon cancer treatment (GoFundMe)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is apparently a dollar amount you earn yearly through your salary, there\u2019s a cutoff for Southeast Kentucky. If you make more than $45,000, there are no benefits for you,\u201d Brewer said. \u201cMy brother said when we went in, they were telling us about all these benefits we\u2019d had forever, regardless. And they\u2019re not living up to any of them for you.\u201d <\/p>\n

The VA supports veterans and their families though specific benefits vary by state. According to the VA website, a person\u2019s eligibility for care is determined by their income and other factors. <\/p>\n

Households which earned $63,086 or more in 2025 may not be eligible based on income but some veterans may still qualify for care based on their VA disability rating, according to the website. <\/a>The Independent has contacted the VA for comment.<\/p>\n

Brewer\u2019s sister, Glena Doorlag, started a GoFundMe page to try to pay for his medical bills, writing that \u201cafter multiple surgeries and cancer treatments, the cost will be astronomical, something they cannot afford.\u201d <\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cChuck is the kind of man people naturally gravitate toward. The one who can make you laugh when you need it most and remind you, without even trying, what a good heart looks like. Chuck has spent his life showing strength, resiliences, and quiet courage. But beyond his service, he is, first and foremost, a devoted family man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a loving son, a loyal brother, a dedicated husband to his wife Becky, and a proud father to Tiffany, Kelsey, Kaitlyn, and their 8 year old son Cash. And grandfather to Colton,\u201d the fundraiser adds. <\/p>\n

The fundraising page had received $16,000 in donations by Tuesday. \u201cI\u2019m appreciative, regardless if we don\u2019t earn another dollar,\u201d Brewer said. <\/p>\n

The veteran said it was overwhelming to have people give back to him. \u201cEverybody struggles a little bit financially and they\u2019re struggling too, but they still decided to give, so it means a lot,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-543281","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}