Cancer allowances left unclaimed

Cancer can cause disability

More than £126.5 million in disability benefits is going unclaimed by people with terminal cancer, according to a report.

Macmillan Cancer Relief says more than half of eligible patients are not claiming benefits they are entitled to.

It blames the low take-up of benefits on a lack of information, confusion and feelings of embarrassment.

It says the government needs to do more to encourage patients to claim what is due to them.

Any cancer patient who has been given a terminal diagnosis with a life expectancy of less than six months automatically qualifies for disability allowances.

Macmillan Cancer Relief compared the rate of cancer deaths in 2001 to the number of disability claims in the same year.

It is appalling that people affected by cancer are faced with the unacceptable extra stress and worry of money problems Mr Peter Cardy, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Relief

In the UK, 54% of people with terminal cancer - nearly 83,000 people - had not claimed their automatic benefits.

There was huge variation in take-up across the UK.

In Scotland, 64% of eligible patients did not claim their benefits, compared with only 23% in Northern Ireland.

Unaware

Macmillan said many patients did not know they were entitled to this money.

Others found it too complicated or stressful to fill out the necessary claim forms.

Mr Peter Cardy, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Relief, said: "It is appalling that people affected by cancer are faced with the unacceptable extra stress and worry of money problems when they are most vulnerable, especially when the help does exist if only they knew about it."

Ms Lorna Reith, chief executive of Disability Alliance said: "We are very aware that one of the biggest problems is lack of take-up of the key disability benefits and probably things may be worse among cancer patients because they won't necessarily see themselves as a disabled person.

"The cumulative effect of not claiming something can be really quite high. Getting a disability benefit can also mean you get an increase in other means-tested benefits," she said.

She said government and healthcare professionals needed to better inform patients that they might be eligible for financial help.

The Department for Work and Pensions said it was committed to raising awareness of the benefits available to terminal cancer patients and simplifying the claim process.

"We want anyone entitled to a benefit to claim what's theirs," said a spokesman.