The hidden cost of the big C

Nov 18 2008 by Emma Pinch, Liverpool Daily Post

The battle against the big C is not just physical. Emma Pinch meets sufferers struggling to meet the financial demands of the disease

SUNFLOWERS cancer support centre, on Aigburth Road, is abuzz with industrious chatter.

Heads are bent over card-making. A vivacious dark-haired woman is draped in what looks like a green tablecloth, trying to drum up support for a pantomime.

But it’s not just the diversions people are here for.

“It’s warm here, and saves putting the heating on at home,” confides a lymphoma sufferer. “Since chemotherapy, I do feel the cold something shocking.”

For thousands of people diagnosed with cancer every year, sadly contracting the Big C isn’t the end of the bad news. The few provisions available by the state mean one in 17 sufferers lose their homes, the average income drop being 50%.

Macmillan Cancer Support are campaigning for more awareness of the financial abyss many cancer sufferers find themselves in.

Marie Boyd, a CAB benefits adviser to the Sunflowers centre funded by Macmillan, says even she was “gobsmacked” when she learned cancer sufferers had to pay for their prescriptions.

“When you’re given a diagnosis, your emotions are all over the place and you’re mind’s not functioning the same as 24 hours previously.

“You don’t know how to prioritise because you’ve just been hit with an earth-shattering statement. You trust that you’ll just have to concentrate on getting well and not worry about losing your house.”

Marie says people first come to her when they find out just how little statutory sick pay turns out to be. Currently, it stands at £75.40 per week.

“Not only has your income reduced by more than half but your outgoings go up, with extra heating on during the day, travelling expenses and prescriptions.

“It impacts on every standing order you’ve got, not to mention property, mortgage and utilities.

“I was gobsmacked when I started doing this job.”