Good morning every body,I will try to make this as brief as I can.My story is I was diagnosed with bowel cancer about 3 weeks ago I have been having procedures for just over a year so it wasn’t totally out of the blue ( but none the less still a shock) then after starting treatment diet, exercise,various blood tests etc after i had an appointment to check my general fitness I was phoned afterwards and told that there is something wrong with my blood and to attend haematology,me being a bit naive assumed that it was just going to be further blood tests only to be told that I also have leukaemia.Now I am working and I also claim universal credit,I informed the DWP via my journal and they brought my phone appointment forward by 3 weeks normally it is every 6 weeks.This happened between the 2 Diagnosies ,they told me that I had to do a capability for work form.The form has been received and I started to complete it I became a bit confused with the form and I went to Maggies for some advice they advised to only complete some of the form and that a health care professional would complete the rest for me.I went to my Doctors to ask for the form to be completed the receptionist told me that it was a MINIMUM of 28 days for the form to be returned to me and that only a GP could fill it in,I told her that it has to be returned by the 29 th of July and I have to allow 5 days for postage.I then went to the DWP to explain and they said that they don’t do extensions and that I had to phone work capability ( capita ) I spoke with them and they said they don’t issue extensions that it was the DWP !! Capital told me that my McMillan nurse could complete the form for me I spoke to my nurse and he said that they don’t do DWP normally send the form through to them but on the form it says that I have to get all the relevant sections complete before returning the form.So after all that is there anyone that has been through similar as I really am now becoming more and more stressed and frustrated and not sure which way to turn.so much for keeping it brief,but any advice would be greatly welcomed,
thanks if you took time to read all his,regards.
Hi Cocokai and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but so sorry to hear about your diagnosis and to hear about the challenges you are dealing with.
I know from experience having been on my cancer journey for over 26 years with two very rare, hard to treat types of Non Hodgkin’s Lymphomas (one incurable), Asbestosis and Prostate Cancer that navigating this journey can be such a stressful and challenging time…
I have to say that my GP, Macmillan Heamatology and Urology CNS’s filled in the medical sections of paperwork like my PIP and Contribution based ESA forms immediately at appointments…..
As for the practicalities of navigating the treatment journey talking with and getting support from people who have walked or are walking the ‘exact same' journey can help a lot.
The Community is actually divided into dedicated Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) so can I recommend that you look to join and put up your own post in our dedicated…….
Bowel (colon and rectum) cancer
……. and for Leukaemia….
General Leukaemia
…….. support groups.
These groups are safe places to talk to others with a similar diagnosis, treatment experience, to ask questions and get support.
To connect in with the group please click on the link above……. then once the group page opens you will see a [Black - Click to Join - Banner] at the bottom of the page, click in this box and this will then confirm that you have joined the group.
You can then introduce yourself to the group by putting up your very own post by clicking [+ Create new post] or [+] in the top right of the group page.
You can copy and paste the text from this post into your new post.
As always the Macmillan Support Line is open between 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00…… this service provides cancer information, practical information, emotional support, benefits and financial guidance or just a listening ear.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community.
Hello Cocokai,
My fellow Community Champion TheHighlander suggested amongst other things the Macmillam support line and I suggest you give them a call as soon as possible for advice on how to deal with your problem. I've reposted the link below and hope you can sort this out soon.
Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm
