ESA

Hi Pitman,  I think the benefit system can be very confusing especially since you have worked and not claimed.  I assume you have not had your Work capability assessment yet.  After your WCA if they place you in the work related activity group and you don't agree, you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration in writing and before 30 days if you still don't agree you can ask for an appeal.  If you go into support group they will back date payment from decision but not date of claim.  If you dont agree it is always worth going through the process.  If you want to send papers to ESA it is quicker and more reliable if you take the papers in to the jobcentre and they can send them directly via an internal system (if your jobcentre will do it for you).  We did at ours, just make sure you put your national insurance number on everything.  PIP will backdate if they change their decision.  I have stage 4 cancer and had to take early retirement.  What stage is your cancer if you don't mind me asking.  Take care

Lee x

Hi Lee , 

Thanks again for the reply. No it just says on the letter that I may need to attend a work focussed interview and also that I may need to fill in a capability for work questionnaire and attend a work capability assessment. I also have to keep submitting medical certificates until the work capability assessment. 
it all seems like ifs , buts and maybes to me . 
Regarding my cancer I was first diagnosed with a grade 4 tumour in 2015 and had my left kidney removed . I was then monitored with regular scans which showed up Prostate cancer in 2019 that was low grade at the time . This worsened and I had 20 sessions of radiotherapy at The Christie to treat the cancer and regular blood tests / monitoring since have shown things to be stable . 
Since 2015 my scans showed up some lesions in my chest / lungs area which were monitored with 3 monthly scans until 2023 when it was deemed necessary to treat me and I was put on a 2 year immunotherapy plan with treatments every 4 weeks . 
When I was first on the immunotherapy I was getting really bad headaches and was referred by my Christies consultant to an ENT consultant and subsequently had an operation in March this year to clear my sinuses but the operation had to be halted because of intraoperative bleeding that required multiple transfusions . 
Further MRI scans revealed a tumour on my brain and which was deemed to have metastasised from my original cancer and also some suspicious activity in my sinus area that requires further investigation but is deemed to be too dangerous for surgery . 
I was treated to radiotherapy on the brain tumour in August this year and have recently had an MRI scan for which I go for the results on Monday 15th of December. The situation regarding my sinus area will also be discussed at that appointment . 
So that’s about it regarding my cancer situation . 
Feel free to ask me anything else or if you have any advice for me it would be gratefully accepted . 

I have always treated my situation as I let the letters come for appointments, scans etc and just turn up on time and put my faith in the people at The Christie . That’s not me being blase’ about things it’s just my way of handling stuff . 

Thanks again ,

Peter ( my real name ) xx

Hi Peter,  I am so sorry to read about your situation, it sounds like you really have been through it.  Good luck for your appointment for your scan results on Monday.  I know we just have to put our life in the medical teams hands.  You sound like you have a good team behind you.  The Christie does have a really good reputation for cancer treatment.  Just to make sure does the DWP letter say that they have placed you in the work related activity group.  Was it the Work capability assessment that you had over the phone?  Sorry for all the questions but I don't want to give you misleading information.  If you have had the assessment and they have made a decision to put you in the WRAG then you do have 30 days to put in writing why you don't agree.  You do sound like you have a lot of grounds to be in the support group and on higher rate PIP.  Maybe phone the number on the letter and ask them or see if anyone in the jobcentre will help you.  Anyway I can't sleep so hence the late message on here ( or early).  I also try and just cope but sometimes at night like now it does play on my mind.  I first had cancer in 2012 and had op, chemo and radiotherapy.  Last year was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer and have mets in pelvis, hips, all of my spine, ribs and skull.  Also had radiotherapy for one of the bigger tumors on my spine it was pushing into spinal cord and was painful.  It feels better now anyway.  I have a CT scan on Monday.  Take care.

Lee (real name is Lisa but always use Lee) x

Good morning Lee , 

Thanks again for your reply and kind words . I must say my heart goes out to you with all that you have been through xx

Regarding  the letter from the DWP it says I will be payed contribution based new style ESA and support allowance which is reduced because I am getting some money from a pension relating to my days as a coal miner .

It then goes on to say that I may 

need to attend a work focussed interview with a personal advisor and will be told separately if I need to attend 

I may need to fill in a capability for work questionnaire and attend a work capability assessment . It says if I do not fill in and send back this questionnaire or attend the assessment my payments may be stopped. 

I did send off one of these forms along with my SSP1 from my employer . I had the consultant at Christies fill in part of it . Unfortunately this form got lost in the post along with copies of letters relating to my medical history . 

When I was informed that the DWP had not received this information I phoned them up and explained the situation and they said that someone would call me back . In the meantime I downloaded the form from the Gov.uk website and filled it in and I also got my employer to send me another SSP1 form. When I did receive my callback I told them about what I had done but they said I didn’t need to send it . 

With hindsight how can they know my situation through a short phone call rather than have the physical evidence of consultant letters and the new forms ?

I am going to take the form with me tomorrow when I go to the hospital and ask my consultant to fill it in and then contact the DWP when I get home and suggest sending the forms to them . By registered post this time :-)

I have gone through the letter and can’t see any mention of being put into either group. 

I have to say that I am normally a pretty calm person but this last couple of years have certainly put some stress on me mentally and when I got the news about the brain tumour I finally spoke to my GP , who is very supportive, and am now having CBT therapy . I think that the “straw that broke the camels back” was when my daughter decided to bring her wedding forward 12 months because she was worried about me . I felt an enormous amount of guilt at first even though she explained that she just wanted to be sure I would be well enough to give her away . Thankfully last month the wedding took place and I had one of my happiest days for a very long time . 

So sorry again for such a long post but please let me tell you that I am truly grateful for all the advice and support that you and others have given me . 

Thank you so much 

Peter xx