Benefits

Hi, 

Thank you for your advice. It’s a minefield it was just my friend said I may be entitled to something, 

Hi Faloola 

Very good advice from Megan. It’s not possible for any of us in the community to say you will or will not definitely get any type of benefit even if we claim it ourselves-the best people to speak to are the welfare advice team. 

I do have a successful pip award, so what I can tell you about that is that it will depend on how your condition affects your daily life and for how long it will continue to do so. There are two components to pip-daily living and mobility with lower and higher components available for each of these depending on the affects of your condition. It is not means tested so that’s very helpful. 

The application is quite detailed and you would need an assessment. Mine was done over the phone. It’s good to have advice when you complete these. You cannot get pip just for having cancer-it’s the impact on your life that’s important. For example I cannot walk 20 metres, I can’t shower alone, make a meal, or put my own socks and shoes on. So I was able to demonstrate I need a lot of help with daily tasks. Getting the award at the level I qualified for enabled me to get a blue badge for the car, and be able to lease a mobility scooter through the Motability scheme. These things have really improved my quality of life.

Benefits in general are an absolute minefield which is why it’s so useful to have the advice of the welfare team. Good luck!

Sarah xx

Thank you Sarah for the information it’s really helpful. That’s basically the reason I have not applied it’s hard enough having the diagnosis without any added pressures, I will have a long hard think if I’m going to apply or not. I understand  that you don’t automatically get anything when you’ve applied. 

It took me a long time to apply Cath, because I kept thinking I would improve. You have to have had the effects on your life for at least 3 months and expect them to continue for at least 9.

So I only applied when things were really becoming difficult. It was backdated to the date I called to start the process, which was the end of April last year, and I actually got the award agreed at the end of July, start of August. But my actual diagnosis first time round was in 2018. Obviously at that point I wasn’t in the position I am in now in terms of needing help so it wasn’t on my radar to apply for any sort of benefits then.

I have to confess I found the application process quite stressful because I had to provide so much personal information, but I’m glad I did it since I’m not working now. It’s definitely worth checking things with the team as you have nothing to lose by applying. 

Sarah xx

Hi,It’s worth applying and getting advice on the form filling.My partner John has a rare muscle disease and had to give up work because he was getting weaker.He was turned down for the higher rate of pip at first but won on appeal.My family all wrote letters to the panel explaining how much he needed his car and blue badge.He would be completely housebound without the car as he cannot walk far and uses sticks.Good luck if you do apply.Love Jane x

Thank you very much Jane. I’m considering applying it’s just all the rigmarole and stress I’m guessing you have to go through with them that’s putting me off. 

Thanks Sarah,

• Yes I’m the same I was diagnosed in 2013 then clear no sign of cancer so signed off from hospital 2018. Was diagnosed with the recurrence last August that unfortunately it had returned and its stage 4 metastasis inoperable and not curable. I’ve been all this time without treatment for quality of life but now I have symptoms mainly in my hips at the moment hard to walk and painful. That’s what made me think should I apply. I assume it will get worse. 

One thing you don’t need is a prognosis. I don’t have one because I’ve never asked, so don’t worry about that. You will need to provide details of your doctors but they are not giving a prognosis for you. You just need to give permission for them to share your medical details. I wasn’t on any treatment when I applied, but my life has been very much changed by my cancer surgery. 

Pip is the only benefit I have personally applied for, but it was not as difficult as I had thought it might be. I asked for the form to complete online, and you can start filling it in and save and stop as you go through it so it’s not too overwhelming to do all at once. As Jane says, you can provide evidence in the form of letters from others about any help you need. 

One of my issues relates to hip pain making it difficult to walk-I need to use sticks if I’m not in my scooter or wheelchair for example. I cannot stand for any length of time, so I mentioned all of that. Once I had submitted my form I had a call from an advisor to go over everything, and he wrote a report which was then considered by the DWP.

I was fortunate to be awarded the highest amount both for daily living and mobility components so did not have to go through any sort of appeal process. I felt that three months from the date I first called them to confirmation of the award was very reasonable, and I received a separate back payment lump sum in August to cover the period from my original phone call. 

It makes a huge difference to my life and has enabled me to get out of the house, be able to park close to the shops and no longer be housebound. My award will be in place until 2025 when it will be reviewed again. 

Sarah xx

Hi Cath,My partner was the same he didn’t really want the stress of applying and almost gave up when he was denied the higher rate of pip.Luckily he is under the care of an excellent neuro muscular team and they helped him with the appeal.I’ve got to sort out my council tax as I shouldn’t be paying as much as I am on benefits.Everytime I try on line the council site crashes.We need all the help we can get when we are ill and unable to work.Jane x

Thanks for that I probably should have done something about it last august when I was diagnosed but I never got numerous reasons. I don’t really know what to apply for.