RICHARD PUGH
COLUMNIST
DEALING with the emotional and physical impacts of cancer is one thing. Trying to do so while worrying about how to pay your bills is another.
On average, people with cancer face around £570 a month in lost income or increased expenditure.
No matter what your circumstances are, cancer is simply not something you save for, and money worries can quickly become a source of significant anxiety.
Thankfully, the Welsh Government’s Cancer Delivery Plan acknowledges this – committing to providing information on sources of financial advice and support to everyone diagnosed with cancer in Wales.
Sadly, there is a long way to go before this commitment becomes a reality.
The latest Cancer Patient Experience Survey suggests that 52% of cancer patients are not getting the financial advice they want and need.
Around 23% of survey respondents said they had received no information on financial help or benefits from hospital staff at all, even though they would have liked some.
At Macmillan Wales, we are investing heavily in advice and support services that will help people to better manage the financial impact of cancer – spending over £500,000 on our welfare benefits advice service in 2017 alone.
It is an investment we are proud of and one that is making a huge difference.
During 2017 we helped secure £14.3m in welfare benefits payments to help thousands of people cope with the huge financial pressures caused by cancer.
Our growing network of welfare benefits advisers worked with over 5,600 people affected by cancer, and secured an average of £4,600 for every person referred into the service.
Since 2010 we have helped people affected by cancer to access over £89.3m in financial support which they were entitled to because of their illness.
Cancer can affect so many parts of a person’s life and will impact on each individual in widely differing ways.
The stresses far exceed the purely clinical and our cancer care teams need to be aware of this wider story.
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.
For many people with cancer, money is the next biggest worry after they have got over the shock of their initial diagnosis.
That is why we have put a nationwide network of welfare benefits advisers in place to try to alleviate some of the pressure for anyone affected by cancer in Wales.
If you have cancer, please seek financial advice and support 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.
More families are now struggling with debt, and complex changes to the welfare benefits systems are placing additional pressure on people diagnosed with cancer.
We desperately need 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
■ Richard Pugh is head of services for Macmillan Wales