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Benefits Misery of Cancer Patients

Posted on: Tuesday, 9 November 2004, 15:00 CST

Three out of four cancer patients suffer from financial hardship as a result of their illness because they are denied benefits. Macmillan Cancer Relief will today call for patients to receive better information about benefits in a bid to level the playing field.

The Better Deal campaign, which aims to change the law to make it easier to apply for benefits, is backed by Plaid Cymru's parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd who said it was 'heartbreaking' that cancer patients are being made to fight for what is rightfully theirs. He said, 'What concerns me most of all are those people who are not aware of the benefits available to them to assist them during their illness. The lack of information provided at, or shortly after diagnosis is shocking.'

Cath Lindley, Macmillan Cancer Relief's general manager in Wales, said, 'It is unacceptable that cancer patients should suffer the huge problem of debt, poverty or financial hardship at a time when they are most vulnerable, especially when help is available if only they knew about it. This is why Macmillan wants a better financial deal for cancer patients and to see a change in the law so that claiming benefit is made much easier.'

A report by the charity this year revealed that more than half of all terminally ill cancer patients do not claim the disability living allowance or attendance allowance they are entitled to - equivalent to pounds 4m unclaimed in Wales.

Barbara Jackson, from Sebastapol, Pontypool, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 but was initially refused incapacity benefit because of 'insufficient contributions'. For one of the two years the Benefits Agency had looked at to assess her claim, Barbara was pounds 5 short of the qualifying amount.

After Barbara, then self-employed and working alongside her husband at Sebastapol Post Office, involved her MP she was eventually given incapacity benefit but only after paying pounds 15 herself and forfeiting six weeks' benefit. 'This did nothing to aid my recovery,' she said. 'It actually put three months on my illness because I tried to go back to work but had to go home and couldn't return for three months.'

Source: Western Mail

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