what benefits can i get if i have cancer and cant work?

aka666

wife has just gone through this, been off work for 6 months, all she was entitled to was her ssp, she just had her wage for this month and it has gone down to half what she would normally pick up, she did try for some kind of benefit but got refused, we have appealed
but not heard a thing, and has taxi73 said if you have critical illness cover on your mortgage they should pay out, with that and the ppi we won,that has tied us over till the wife is over this terrible disease, i hope everything goes ok for you and your family, good luck

Spendless

Have you informed tax credits of your reduced income?
I'd also dig out any insurance policies you have, see if you have any cover for if you are off sick.
Def check if you took out critical illness cover. My husband had this on an endowment we still paid but for a house sold years ago. he 'forgot' he'd got it - despite me asking him several times! It paid out in full at the end of last year including the last 3.5 years of premiums we'd paid since his diagnosis.

corky2

Weejamesy
My friend is in the same boat and I actually posted on this forum a few months back because she is a nanny and I couldn't believe she was expected to live on SSP and pay all her bills but yes she does!
I was also disappointed with the financial guidance offered by Macmillan - I rang up and they just sent out a few leaflets as well. Perhaps I was naive but I expected an advisor to pop over to my friends house and go through everything and fill out the forms for her, particularly as she was too ill to fill out forms herself.
Right - here's what we did:
- applied for a Macmillan grant.. this is the only thing from Macmillan that was actually useful - my friend got £300, which went towards paying her gas bill. Here's the link...but unhelpfully, they do not provide the actual form on line (so that you could fill it in advance and get it signed by a health professional) you have to ask your consultant/etc to fill it in.
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/HowWeCanHelp/FinancialSupport/MacmillanGrants.aspx
Join the Breast Care forum (my link is to March chemo ladies) and your husband can also join the supporters' forum to help him - found this really useful
http://share.breastcancercare.org.uk/forum/chemotherapy-march-2012-t35938s1020.html
All those cancer charities out there...some feedback...please provide financial help, a real person, someone who helps and not realms and realms and realms of leaflets....

corky2

OK just an update, I have booked my friend into the Maggies centre in London for a benefits session so I suggest you find a centre close to you and do the same (also they have Look Good Feel Better session, which everyone raves about on the cancer forums)
http://www.maggiescentres.org/programme/benefits.html