Financial issues

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Unfortunately a diagnosis of cancer has a significant disruption to activities of daily living including the ability to work and generate income. There are also a number of legal issues which are commonly necessary to confront at this time. The main financial and legal issues related to cancer and its treatments are summarized within the relevant headings below:

• Prescription charges 
• Driving and cancer
• Critical illness cover
• Life assurance
• Making a will 
• Making a living will
• Travel insurance 
• Pensions
• Working and cancer

Prescription charges

When you attend the oncology centre the doctor may prescribe you some tablets to take home. Prescription payment will be required for those tablets by our outpatient pharmacy (patients who are receiving benefits should have an exemption certificate). We are aware that this can become very expensive, as current prescription charges are £5.65 per item. If you are going to need more than one prescription per month, for a period of time, we advise you to obtain a prescription season ticket. This will cover any amount of tablets prescribed by your consultant or GP, that you may require over a four month period = £29.30, or a 12 month period = £80.50. 

Application forms are available from:

•   your named nurse in the oncology centre
•   the chemotherapy suite
•   the outpatient pharmacy
•   or your local chemist. 

The application for a prescription season ticket can take up to one month to be processed. Whilst you are awaiting your prescription season ticket, make sure you obtain a receipt for any prescriptions you have to pay for, and these can then be reclaimed once you have received it.

If finances are a problem, it may be possible to claim a benefit. You may ask advice from oncology staff, your local Citizens Advice Bureau by phoning the DSS helpline on 0800 882200.

Further general information Your doctors and specialist nurses are in an ideal position to give you relevant information on your disease and treatment as they know your individual circumstances. Cancerbackup has a help line (0808 800 1234) and a prize winning video available in English, Italian, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati & Hindi explaining Radiotherapy & Chemotherapy. Cancernet.co.uk has over 500 pages describing cancer, its management, practical tips and tool which patients, their carers and their doctors have found helpful during the cancer journey.