Financial Support

What support is available?

A cancer diagnosis can change your financial situation. It may mean you need to stop working, or work less. It can also mean spending more money on things like hospital parking. But depending on your situation, you may be able to get benefits or other financial support.

Why is cancer so expensive?

There are several factors which can make it a struggle financially when undergoing cancer treatment. Here are a few of the main reasons which can stretch your budget:

Time off work – if you or a loved one is undergoing treatment there is a high chance that you will need to take some time off work. This can mean a reduction in your income.
Transport costs – regular trips to hospitals can add up: parking costs, petrol, public transport tickets can stretch your budget.
Fuel Poverty – this means patients paying increased costs for heating in their homes. Patients will often feel the cold more than they normally would when undergoing treatment. Increased use of heating can increase the bills.
Medical costs – the majority of treatment will not require payment but there can be costs for additional medicines or treatments.

These are some of the factors which can put a strain on your finances and that in turn can make you stressed and anxious. There are lots of organisations which are able to offer support.

There is financial support available from the government here in the UK, and there are also organisations which can offer grants, free financial advise and budgeting help too.

We will give an overview of the help out there and links to their resources.

Benefits if you are unable to work

Support from your work

If you work for an employer and take time off sick, you may be able to get sick pay. Your employer should try to support you at work. They should make reasonable adjustments to help you do your job during and after cancer treatment.

You may need help at work even after your employer has made reasonable adjustments. If you do, you can contact a government programme called Access to Work. It provides advice and practical support if you have a long-term health condition that affects the way you do your job.

You will be offered support based on your needs. This may include a grant to help cover the costs of practical support in the workplace. Visit Access to Work, or nidirect if you live in Northern Ireland.

If you are self-employed, you will not get sick pay. But you can still apply for other benefits if you cannot work or your income decreases.

Employment and Support Allowance

Universal Credit

Universal Credit (UC) is a benefit for people under State Pension age who are either of the following:

out of work, for example because of an illness or caring responsibilities
on a low income.

You may be able to get UC if:

you are on a low income or out of work
you are aged 18 or over (or 16 or over in certain cases)
you are not in full-time education or training (unless exceptions apply, such as you get Personal Independence Payment and cannot work because of ill-health)
you and your partner have £16,000 or less in savings between you
you live in the UK.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Income tax refund

Non government advice and support

The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)

There are dedicated staff who can help you negotiate the Benefits System. You can phone:

If you live in Wales call 08444 77 20 20
If you live in England call 08444 111 444
If you live in Scotland call 0808 800 9060 .
Hard of hearing? Call the Text Relay Service call 08444 111 445

The advice is free but the phone numbers are not free and cost 5 pence per minute from BT landlines – mobiles will cost more. You can find your nearest CAB office using this site for England and Wales, this site for Northern Ireland and this site for Scotland.

Macmillan

Maggie's

Facing a cancer diagnosis is stressful enough without money worries adding to the anxiety. If you are facing cancer make sure you take advantage of the resources that are out there to make sure you are getting everything that you are entitled to from the Government and other organisations.

We are continuously reviewing and updating our Help and Support section, if you received support from a group that you would like added to this page contact us here.

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