A cancer patient being treated at the Royal Oldham Hospital and living off limited sick pay has shared her fears over soaring living costs.
Julie Tennant, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is currently receiving chemotherapy treatment at Royal Oldham, has said she is having to plan her food shop “very carefully” as bills continue to climb.
The 58-year-old is having to take time off from her job as a support worker for treatment and is living on half-sick pay that is soon to be cut off.
She said: “My situation is tricky because my sick pay has been very limited because I had been off before with long-Covid for seven months two years ago.
“This means that I’m currently living off of £125 a week and this is about to be cut off from next week.”
She added: “£125 does not buy very much these days, so my husband Andy and I are having to be very careful, especially when it comes to our food shop, and we have to plan what we buy very carefully.
“Andy is disabled and can only work 25 hours per week so there is no option for him to be able to work overtime either.”
Ms Tennant, who lives in Heywood, found out she could apply for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and statutory sick pay during a visit to Maggie’s cancer centre but faces a 13 to 16-week wait to find out if she will receive them.
Neil Murray, benefits adviser at Maggie’s Oldham, the cancer charity that runs the centre, said: “We are definitely seeing an increase in people coming into our centres worried about money at a time when they should be able to focus on their treatment.
“People suddenly have a reduced income – or no income at all - when the cost of the most basic living expenses are higher than ever. Then there is the added costs of having cancer such as heating costs and extra travel for hospital appointments.
“The good news is that there is help out there, but the problem now is the time it takes to get people access to that help – on top of the three- or six-month qualifying periods, it often takes between 12 and 16 weeks for benefit payments to be approved which is a very long time for someone to be struggling with money while also undergoing treatment.
“There needs to more help for people living with cancer.”
A recent survey carried out by OnePoll on behalf of Maggie’s found that almost half (48 per cent) of people living with cancer list cost of living as one of their top worries.
Out of the 250 people in the UK living with cancer who responded 71 per cent said they were worried about their cancer diagnosis, 48 per cent said were worried about the rise cost of living expenses, and 21 per cent said they were very concerned about the rising costs of food.
A further 19 per cent of people also cited climate change as a source of worry.
In response, a government spokesperson said: “We know people are struggling, which is why we’re providing record financial support worth an average £3,300 per household.
“We have also raised benefits in line with inflation, increased the National Living Wage and are supporting families with food, energy and other essential costs.
“We remain committed to ensuring that people get the benefits they are entitled to as soon as possible and that they receive a supportive and compassionate service.”
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