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work and caring

shayley
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HI,my husband is 65 and was diagnosed with NSCLC  and told it was terminal two and a half years ago.He has had chemo and radiotherapy to his head. Every 6 months he has a scan and we dread each one. I have  worked 20 hours over 4 days each week and my work place has been supportive. But i work in a supermarket and its very stressful,just before christmas i became very stressed and ended up in a doctors surgery crying my eyes out i just felt overwhelmed! I am still off work now. My husband is having alot of problems with his short term memory,so much so that when i went to work it would worry me. I am 63 this year and i dont know wether i should hand my notice in as my husband needs more support. I already get carers allownce as my husband has other disabilities,we both claim universal credit and my husband gets PIP with special  rules now. Since i have been off work i have been able to help him more,he doesnt have any confidence now and gets muddled,when i have said about seeing a doctor he says whats the point its another problem for him to cope with.I just dont know what to do?? 

  • Hello  

    Thank you for getting in touch with us. I can see it’s been really tough for both you and your husband for quite some time. We are here to help support.

    You’d be welcome to get in touch with our freephone support line 0808 808 00 00 or our online webchat service whenever you need to talk about this. Both open 8am – 8pm seven days a week. We will offer emotional support and provide a space for you to express how you are feeling. We will also look to provide any guidance you may need, and we have different teams here depending on the need including cancer information nurses and our money advisors. There might also be face to face support that you can access by looking here.

    Our Money Advice service is open 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday and can be accessed in both ways mentioned above. They will provide you with guidance about the financial benefits you could receive if you decide to give up working to look after your husband full time. Perhaps their guidance will help assist you in coming to the right decision  .

    If you can’t give up working, and you feel you need some help looking after him at home, you can ask his healthcare professional (consultant, oncologist, or GP) for a needs assessment. The assessment would consider not only his medical needs but his practical and care needs at home, as well as your needs shaley as his primary carer. More information about that can be found here.

    Please do stay in touch with us here whenever you need to  . We will look to help support you in any way we can.

    David, Information and Support Adviser

    Remember you can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or by email.

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