More than 30,000 people with cancer rely on charity to heat their homes or buy essential items such as bedding or clothing, and some risk losing out further under the government’s benefit changes, Macmillan Cancer Support has warned.
The charity provided support ranging from grants to financial advice to 120,000 people last year as people with the disease struggled to make ends meet. Its figures, published on Friday, showed that about 33,000 cancer patients depend on Macmillan to buy clothing, heat their homes, get to and from hospital and buy bedding or other vital items.
The charity fears some could be pushed over the edge by the government’s welfare reform and work bill. The new legislation means people entering the employment support allowance (ESA) work-related activity group – assessed as too ill to work but capable of taking steps towards moving into employment – will lose about £30 a week.
Ellie Rose, the charity’s head of public affairs, said: “When someone has cancer, they suffer from a double financial whammy. Their income goes down at the same time as their costs go up. They spend more on heating bills because they are at home more and feel colder, they also face higher clothing costs and travel costs.
“These people are already suffering from financial hardship and [the bill] will risk pushing them over the edge.”
People with cancer often need different clothes because of weight loss or gain, abdominal swelling or a colostomy bag or special bras if they have had a mastectomy.
Macmillan has previously calculated the financial impact of a cancer diagnosis makes an individual £575 a month worse off.
The remaining tens of thousands who did not receive grants from the charity last year depended on Macmillan for support on a range of financial issues, from accessing government benefits to guidance on paying mortgages.
The government claims the reduction in the ESA, which will align it with jobseeker’s allowance, will incentivise people to return to work. But Rose said it would just increase their stress levels and potentially encourage them to take a job when they are not ready to do so.
“For many people, they will still be living with the consequences of the cancer treatment,” she said. “They’ve been medically classified as not being fit to go to work so we think it’s really unfair to punish people to this extent.”
The Department for Work and Pensions says only a small proportion of individuals whose initial diagnosis is cancer will end up in the work-related activity group.
A spokesman said: “The vast majority of those with cancer will continue to receive additional top-up payments and won’t be expected to look for work, and no one already claiming employment and support allowance will be worse off under these reforms.
“People facing a cancer diagnosis will continue to get the support they need through the benefits system.”
The welfare reform and work bill has already come under fire for cutting tax credits, with some Tories joining the opposition in arguing that it will unfairly impact on some of the lowest paid workers.
‘It was really touching’: one patient tells how Macmillan helped her
Natalie Akkad, 33, from London, was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer earlier this year. On top of the emotional turmoil, she had to deal with the financial impact.
“Your whole regime has to change,” she said. “The things that are recommended are not cheap: taxis when you’re feeling unwell after chemo[therapy], heating because you’re freezing all the time. My food bill went up quickly because you’re encouraged to eat certain foods. I have been on special diets, such as a high-protein diet. You’re encouraged to eat fresh fruit and vegetables.”
She also had to pay for a wig and multiple sets of clothes, as her size fluctuates because of the illness.
Akkad was working for Kids Company but was forced to take sick leave after being diagnosed and shortly afterwards lost her job as a result of the charity’s collapse.
She said applying for welfare payments was far from simple as “your mind is such a blur”. Macmillan helped her with the applications as well as providing her with a grant to buy a juicer. “A cheque came through the post after I’d had a horrible week,” Akkad said. “I felt like someone had given me a million pounds. It was really touching.”
