My husband has Stage 4b lung cancer. We are going to apply for PIP using the special rules /DS1500 form. My understanding is that we need to call the DWP to start the process. Have any of you here done this recently and if so, do you know what they ask?
although my husband knows his cancer is not curable, he is not ready to ask for the prognosis and has not read any stats on the internet. As a result he is super positive and I am concerned that he may inadvertently end up thinking/finding out he may only have 6m to live from the DWP! something I’d like to avoid is possible !!
thank you
Hi, your husbands doctor or specialist nurse can fill out his DS1500 so you don’t have to answer the awkward questions about life expectancy. Either speak to his GP about this, or call his lung nurse, they can do it online for you.
You can also call the Macmillan support line to talk to a financial advisor as there may be other benefits you may be entitled too. Call 0808 808 00 00 they are available from 8am until 8pm.
An update on this in case anyone has the same question in the future. I called up myself to see how far I could get without my husband being on the line. turns out I was able to go through the entire process on his behalf, and that they did not ask any questions about prognosis etc so it would have been fine for him to have been with me. HOWEVER, the 'classic' moment comes before you speak to the advisor....where the automated phone system says something along the lines of ...'Press 1 to start your PIP claim, Press 2 if you have less than 6 months to live and want to apply using Special Rules' 
lost_dot_com I know this must of been upsetting for you hearing this, and wanted to reassure you about conversations I have seen from members, who have claimed under the 6 months to live criteria, and are still claiming years later. The pip is renewed automatically every year. One member has been doing this for 3 years now x
