Financial impact of cancer can be worse than cancer itself, says MP

Sefton Central MP Bill Esterson has pledged to work to ease the financial pressures of a cancer diagnosis.

The MP heard that “the stress of the financial impact of cancer is worse than cancer itself” as the charity MacMillan Cancer Support launched its report “Cancer – A Costly Diagnosis? Stories of the Financial Impact of Cancer”.

The report revealed that four out of five people are £570 a month worse off because of their cancer diagnosis. The charity is calling for changes to universal credit, the banking system and a review of travel insurance in a bid to ease the financial pressures of living with cancer.

Mr Esterson said: “People living with cancer should be getting the financial support they need. A cancer diagnosis should not mean having to struggle to pay the bills. I fully support this campaign by MacMillan for a review of the way the universal credit system works for people living with cancer. I have also heard that some banks are better than others at supporting customers who have cancer, and that travel insurance premiums can be astronomical, as much as £10,000. This is clearly ludicrous.”

The MacMillan report says: “The financial impact of cancer is extremely unfair.

“Improvements to diagnostics and treatments mean that people are now twice as likely to survive for ten years after a cancer diagnosis than they were 40 years ago. But surviving does not always mean living well.

“Across the UK, people living with cancer are forced to contend with the double hit of reduced income and increased costs.

“Cancer diagnoses are typically sudden and people often don’t realise the extent to which their finances are likely to be affected. 45% of people are taken by surprise by the extent of the financial impact of their diagnosis.

“With improvements to diagnostics and treatments, the cancer population is increasing, but surviving cancer doesn’t mean living well. Everyone’s priority should be ensuring every person living with cancer gets the financial support they need when they need it.

“Whether it is giving up work while having treatment, a reduced income, facing increased household costs, or higher transport bills, we know the devastating impact a cancer diagnosis can have on someone’s finances. This is why Macmillan have continuously campaigned for changes to help tackle the financial impact of cancer.

“Macmillan is calling for fundamental changes to be made to Universal Credit, to ensure that it provides the support people with cancer need to manage the financial impact of their diagnosis.

“We are calling for a legal Duty of Care to ensure all financial services providers act in the best interests of their customers, encouraging banks to take a pre-emptive approach, identifying the needs of their customers and ensuring they do not experience harm.

“Macmillan are calling on the FCA to undertake a market study to investigate on pricing practices in the travel insurance industry, which are causing harm to people’s finances and their wellbeing.”

Mr Esterson added: “So many of us will be affected by a cancer diagnosis in our lives, whether for ourselves or a loved one, so this is an important campaign and I will be doing all I can in Parliament to highlight these issues.”