Illness always arrives unannounced and with it can bring financial challenges and concerns for patients and their families which they have not bargained for.
How to cope with maintaining your job through the treatment, the cost of travel to and from treatment centres, the general financial pressures on family budgets? For some, the cost of accommodation during periods of intensive and specialist chemotherapy regimes.
Make Early Contact
Macmillan Cancer Support is a national charity which believes firmly that the main focus for someone with cancer should always be their health and not how they are going to pay their next bill. They offer expert advice about benefits you may be entitled to plus other financial support on offer. They may even provide grants to those most in need.
Remember
If you , or a loved one, have money worries then dont wait until it becomes a problem. Make early contact with Macmillan Cancer Support. Call them on 0808 808 00 00 or, better still,call into their local advice centre which is located opposite the main reception desk as you enter Withybush Hospital.You can speak to their Financial Support Benefits and Welfare Officer on 01437 776346
If you prefer you can find out more by visiting their website at www.macmillan.org.uk/financialsupport
All enquiries you make will be treated in confidence.
​
The Withybush Hospital Cancer Day Unit Appeal charity has introduced a helpful and easy to access Patient Support Grant (up to £400) to help cover some of the unwanted costs you may face as a result of a cancer diagnosis. eg the costs of travel to another hospital for your treatment,keeping a car on the road or unexpected household bills etc.
IMPORTANT -Its a grant so it does not have to be repaid!
Ask a member of the cancer nursing team at Withybush Hospital or the Pembrokeshire Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Service for more details.
(Information Centre at the entrance to the hospital)
Look Here!
Tenovus Cancer Care
Valuable help and advice is also available to you locally from Tenovus Cancer Care who provide a benefits advice service every Tuesday morning between 9.30 am and 12.30pm. Based at the Beech Rooms on the ground floor at Withybush Hospital why not call them on 07973 429098 to fix an appointment.
IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT HELP
If you are aged between 16 and 64 then you may be eligible for a weekly Personal Independence Payment from the Government. For more information visit the following website:
If you are caring for someone who has cancer then you may be eligible for financial help from the Government in the form of a Carers Allowance.
Visit the following website to see if you are eligible: www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/overview
Financial Products For Those With a Pre-Existing Condition
Helpful advice and links to financial products ( life or travel insurance) which may be helpful to you can be found on a website which promotes information for those with a pre-existing medical condition.
(Please note that the website link aside is not specifically endorsed by our charity but provided as a source of additional information).
Do You Bank with the Nationwide?
If so, visit the link aside to learn about the special service they offer to customers affected by cancer
Lloyds Bank Specialist Service in Wales
When you or a loved one has cancer managing money may increase in importance for you. Lloyds Bank in Wales offers a confidential new service designed to ease the pressure on you by assisting you with your needs. From accessing bank services to coping with financial difficulties to nominating someone to act on your behalf.
Call in to a local branch for more details about the new service or you can call the Bank specialist support team in confidence on 0800 015 0016