Middle-aged cancer patients forced to sell homes and move in with parents as disease ‘costs £570 a month’
30,000 cancer victims left 'ashamed and embarrassed' at being financially crippled by disease after losing income and having to shell out for transport to hospital
THOUSANDS of middle-aged cancer patients have been forced to sell their home and move back in with parents after being financially crippled by the disease.
A report by Macmillan Cancer Support says 30,000 sufferers in their 40s and 50s have borrowed money from their elderly mum or dad.
And more than 2,000 have flogged their homes and returned to their parents or in-laws when their cash ran out.
The charity says cancer costs patients an average £570 a month in lost income or increased expenditure because many are too ill to work.
They also have to pay for travel to and from hospital and often turn up heating at home because treatment can leave them feeling cold.
An estimated 700,000 people with cancer – across all age groups – are vulnerable because they have no savings to fall back on, the charity warns.
Macmillan says the dire financial situation “robs people of their independence” and leaves them feeling “ashamed and distressed”.
Money worries during cancer also affect people’s physical and emotional health.
Lynda Thomas, from the charity, said: “It is heart-breaking that people in their 40s and 50s with cancer might have to go cap in hand to their parents to ask for money simply to keep a roof over their head or put food on the table.
“The cost of cancer is leaving people embarrassed, ashamed and dependent.
“Borrowing money could cause tension amongst families at a time when people need support more than ever.
“While Macmillan is here for anyone facing money worries, we also need the Government, healthcare professionals and the banking and insurance sector to play their part to ease this burden.”
Terry White, who borrowed cash from his parents when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma aged 56, said: “Life before cancer had been comfortable.
“I’d worked hard and saved hard but six months into an eight-month chemo regime our savings had dwindled to nothing and our finances had spiralled out of control.
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“I had to claim benefits for the first time in my life with the threat of our home being repossessed hanging over us.
“It got so bad that I had to borrow £2,000 from my 78-year old parents.”
The electrician, from Newark, Notts, is now 62 and has since recovered from the disease.
He added: “It was deeply embarrassing that at this time in my life I was going cap in hand to ask for their support.”