Danbury Woman Battling Cancer Loses Job, Health Insurance 5 Months Before Retirement

A Danbury woman battling Multiple Myeloma, a type of blood cancer, was five months away from early retirement when she was told by the Town of North Salem that she lost her job as court clerk and her health benefits, according to Fox News.

One of her three children, Jessica Rubino, posted on Facebook that she was notified of her job loss via email three days before Christmas that her last day of work would be Dec. 31, 2015 and that she would be replaced by a new court clerk. She held the position for nearly 10 years before she was let go. Jessica wrote:

“While my sick mother was hoping to kickstart a fresh new year, after 2015 couldn’t have gotten worse, she starts 2016 being ‘released’ from her job while battling her health issue. To make this worse, she was given notice 3 days before Christmas in an email stating that her last day of work would be 12/31/15. She is being replaced by a new court clerk at the decision of the newly elected judges who are being inducted today at 1pm. She sits here at treatment speechless, disappointed, and hurt that the people she worked with for almost 10 years could allow this to happen only 5 months before she is eligible for early retirement, with her health benefits that she desperately needs. I cannot believe that anyone could make such a heartless decision. Shame on you, Town of North Salem.”

Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that develops in the plasma cells found in bone marrow, according to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, a cause the Rubino family fundraises for year-round.

“ This cause is near and dear to our hearts and we actively fundraise for them all year long, participating in almost all of their events. They play a vital role in the reason our mom is here today,” Jessica told Patch.

The foundation states that standard treatment includes “chemotherapy, corticosteroid therapy, targeted therapy, high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant, biological therapy, radiation therapy, surgery and watchful waiting.”

North Salem Town Supervisor Warren Lucas told News 12 Westchester that due to HIPAA laws and personal aspects of issues raised that he could not comment on the case.

Click here to read the full story on Fox News.

Photo: Trish Rubino with her three children, via Facebook