'Getting cancer is expensive' - thousands given out in hardship grants in Norfolk and Suffolk
Macmillan handed out nearly £140,000 in 2020 to cancer patients in Norfolk and Suffolk.
Last updated 1st Apr 2021
Macmillan says in 2020 it gave out nearly £140,000 in hardship grants to over 460 cancer patients in Norfolk and Suffolk.
In total the charity handed out over £9.2 million to help people struggling with the pandemic's financial impact and the unexpected costs cancer can bring.
Ruth Bennet, who's from Barnham, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019.
She told us there's lots of hidden costs when you have cancer: "Parking, petrol, radiotherapy is a daily trek, and even though they reduce the parking fees you still pay.
"Baby toothbrushes that you have to have every cycle a new one, things like that and step by step you suddenly realise it's expensive having cancer."
Ruth was one of the patients to receive a hardship grant from Macmillan and says it was a real lifesaver, as things change so quickly after you're diagnosed.
"All of a sudden my house was left with pets in it, and people had to run around and sort that out.
"No one turned the heating off, which is understandable.
"I came home and within a few days I had no oil, and oil's not cheap to top up suddenly just like that."
She told us the expense of having cancer isn't something you budget for and it's certainly not something you expect.
"The day I was diagnosed, I had to come out of hospital and I was in shock, in fact I walked around the hospital about three times, and I know that hospital well enough to get out, I was just in shock.
"And all of sudden you have to go to a parking thing and pay to be told you have cancer."
Ruth told us while the hardship grants went a long way to help, it shouldn't necessarily have to be up to charities to help.
She said even something as small as not having to pay for parking would take a huge weight off.
"It is quite a harsh thing to go through on top of the emotional things.
"It would be good for the Government to really look at the parking at the hospitals, and really take that pressure off the patients.
"And the staff as well who have to pay, it's just crazy."
During the difficult journey, Ruth said the support she's had from Macmillan has been invaluable.
"I would have struggled, I would've really struggled.
"I had so much support from my friends, messaging me constantly, sending me emergency toilet rolls and parcels.
"But Macmillan were there to sort me in my emotions when I couldn't understand things.
"When I suddenly lost my taste for things and I couldn't understand what was going on."
Cathy Cunningham-Elliott, Manager of the Macmillan Benefits Advice Service for Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire said: “The sad truth is that more than a third of people with cancer (39%) are severely financially impacted by their diagnosis, with many now having to deal with the double blow of being diagnosed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It’s a devasting reality to contend with and many are simply unaware of the support that exists.
“A Macmillan grant can help pay for the little things that make a big difference to the lives of people with cancer – paying for replacement washing machines, covering the heating bill, buying a blender for someone whose treatment makes it hard to eat normally – and in this way have become a vital safety net for people receiving a diagnosis, especially during the pandemic. But applying for these grants represent just one of the ways we can help.
“We also guide people through the benefits system and point them towards local support schemes to help them make the most of the financial relief available to them.
"We leave no stone unturned and in the last five years alone have successfully secured more than £35.6m of vital financial assistance, through benefits and grants, for people affected by cancer in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
“That would have been impossible without the generous donations of Macmillan supporters, without whom neither our roles, nor the Macmillan grants we help distribute, would exist.”
To find out more about how you can access Macmillan grants and other financial support you might be eligible for, call the team on 0345 600 6257.