Financial help for people with cancer

Your employer

Your employer or human resources manager will be able to give you information about your organisation’s sickness policy and how much paid and unpaid time off you are entitled to Statutory sick pay is paid by your employer for up to 28 weeks of sickness. Statutory sick pay is a legal minimum and if you qualify for it, your employer cannot pay you less.

Grants from charities

There are also some funds available to help people meet the financial costs of cancer.

• Macmillan Cancer Support gives one-off grants to people with cancer which can cover a wide range of practical needs. Applications should be made on behalf of the patient by a health or social care professional such as a social worker, GP or Macmillan nurse.
• Sargent Cancer Care may give financial help to parents of children with cancer.
• A patient who's been in the armed forces may obtain a grant from the Soldiers, Sailors & Airmen's Families Association , the Earl Haig Fund or the RAF Benevolent Fund.
• The Independent Living Fund helps with the costs of help at home. Applications have to be made through your local social services department.

The benefits system

You may be entitled to different benefits depending on your situation. These include:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Disabled Person's Tax Credit
• Employment and Support Allowance
• Carer's Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Income Support, including personal allowances, premiums if you are a carer or disabled, and help with housing costs
• Help from the Social Fund – this is a Government fund that makes payments to people in need. These include Maternity Grants and Funeral Payments. The Social Fund also includes cold weather payments, which are paid automatically when the temperature drops below 0°Celsius for seven days in a row.

There may be other benefits you can get, so it's a good idea to get advice from a benefits expert.

You could seek assistance from the Benefit Enquiry Line (for people with sickness and disabilities) on 0800 882200, your local Citizens Advice Bureau or your local benefits office.

Macmillan Cancer Support has a booklet about the benefits which may be available and how to access them. It’s called Help with the cost of cancer and you can order it online at www.be.macmillan.org uk/be/ or you can contact Macmillan’s cancer support specialists for more information.

Help with health care costs

In England, people with cancer in England have been eligible for free prescriptions from 1 April 2009. All people undergoing treatment for cancer, and the effects of cancer treatment, can apply for an exemption certificate by collecting a form FP92A from their GP surgery or oncology clinic. Prescription charges in Scotland are now £4. From April 2010 they will be £3, and from April 2011 they will be free. All prescriptions are free in Wales and in Northern Ireland, prescriptions will be free from April 2010. If you’re on a low income, you may be able to get help with health costs such as travel to hospital, fabric supports and wigs. You can claim on form HC1, which you can get from your local Jobcentre Plus, (Jobs and Benefits office in Northern Ireland), social security office, or NHS hospital. You may also be able to get one from your doctor, dentist or opitician.

Your nurse, a social worker (contact them through the hospital where you're being treated), or other hospital staff should be able to give you leaflet HC81 (SG) Free Prescriptions: an Easy Guide and leaflet HC11 Help With Health Costs.