Macmillan Wales has secured £14.3 million in welfare benefits payments to help thousands of people cope with the huge financial pressures caused by cancer.
During 2017, the charity’s nationwide network of welfare benefits advisers worked with over 5,600 people affected by cancer to help them access the welfare benefits they are entitled to because of their illness.
Securing an average of £4,600 for every person referred into the service last year, the charity has now helped people affected by cancer to access over £89.3 million since 2010.
As most people diagnosed with cancer face an average of £570 a month in lost income or increased expenditure, money worries can quickly become a source of anxiety and concern for anyone who receives a cancer diagnosis.
From housing benefit to help people affected by cancer to keep a roof over their heads, to explaining an increasingly complex welfare benefits system, Macmillan’s advisers work to reduce financial anxiety.
The charity warns that not enough people with cancer are being offered financial help – with only 48% of people who responded to a recent Wales Cancer Patient Experience Survey saying they had been given enough information about financial help and benefits(i).
Paul Davies, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2013 said: “You really can’t plan or save for cancer. Believe me, a little bit of financial help goes a long way when you are desperately ill but still having to worry about the bills.
“I’d worked nearly all my life in the UK, but had planned to enjoy some of my retirement in Cyprus. Then I was diagnosed with cancer. Weighing in at less than 6 stone and with a 5% chance of survival, I came back to Wales expecting to die.
“We had to rush back with nothing, and we were really struggling. Then we met Macmillan. They not only helped plan my medical care, they also realised that there were other huge pressures and stresses as well.
“They talked through our options and what we might qualify for, and one day a cheque for £500 came through the door.
“It couldn’t have come at a better time – financial support and advice to help us through the worst of it, to take some of the financial pressure off and to cover some of the unseen costs of cancer that you just don’t think about.
“It really helped set me up at the time when I needed it the most. That is why I now fundraise for Macmillan as well – we’ve paid that £500 back and then some, to try and make sure there is support available for the next person who needs it.”
Richard Pugh, Head of Services for Macmillan Cancer Support in Wales, said:
“No-one should underestimate just how big the financial impact of cancer can be.
“More and more people are being diagnosed with cancer and a growing number of those people are still working age and may have dependents.
“We know that money is the next biggest worry for anyone affected by cancer after they have got over the shock of their initial diagnosis.
“Trying to deal with the huge emotional and physical impacts of cancer is one thing, but trying to do so while worrying about work and how you are going to afford to keep a roof over your head, the heating on and food on the table is another thing altogether – the sheer panic and stress of it just doesn’t bear thinking about.
“That is why we have put a nationwide network of welfare benefits advisers in place to try and alleviate some of the pressure for anyone affected by cancer in Wales.
“If you have cancer, please seek financial advice as early as you can. If you are a professional involved in cancer care, please let people know about our services and the support that is available. We really can help to take some of the pressure off.”
Macmillan Wales has been campaigning for people with cancer to have financial information and support since launching its Counting the Cost of Cancer campaign in 2012.
With more families now struggling with debt, and complex changes to the welfare benefits systems placing additional pressure on people diagnosed with cancer, the charity is calling for every cancer patient to be routinely signposted to welfare benefits advice from the earliest stage of their diagnosis.
If you have been affected by cancer, or would like to find out what financial support is available, please call Macmillan’s free helpline on 0808 808 00 00 or visit macmillan.org.uk/moneyworries.
