New to the club

Hi Cakenport

What a lot to deal with for you. I am in in the same position as you being self employed. I had worked in secure jobs all my working life and started up my business just before the pandemic hit! So like you, 3 years of very little income.  It’s easy for me to say don’t panic but there’s very little you can do in terms of income , your health is paramount but there’s lots of things to explore for support and advice. I called the Macmillan financial helpline for advice and they were a great help. They will point you in the right direction for support with your self employment situation. There’s also a section on self employment in the MacMillan support pages.  If there’s anything you want to ask, please let me know.  All the best. Ax

Thanks so much @Morar I didn't know there was any guidance like this available and was planning to speak to Citizen's Advice once I'd got my bearings and less panicky but this would definitely be better. All the best to you and I'm sorry you've had such a bumpy start to your business with so many hurdles.

Hi Cakenport and welcome to our group in the Online Community. I'm sorry to read about what you've gone through all that waiting and asking for further tests to be done and now the prospect of having a hysterectomy on top of lack of income due to Covid.

As Morar has mentioned, contact the Macmillan Support Helpline , freephone number shown below, and ask a financial expert, they'll be able to offer some advice.

Come back and let us know how your treatments progress. If you want to ask any of us any questions please come back and do so. There's always someone around and we can offer a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold or listen to a rant, we’re here for you.

It might also be a good idea to download this booklet Understanding Womb (Endometrial) Cancer. I found it invaluable on my journey. 

Click on the link I’ve created to find out more information covering diagnosis and treatments for Womb cancer.

You might also find this link to what to take in my overnight bag useful for when you have surgery.

You can speak to someone in confidence by calling Macmillan Support on 0808 808 0000 - 365 days a year 8am to 8pm It's free from mobiles and landlines. The friendly team are waiting to take your call.

There is also an Ask an Expert section, but you should allow two to three working days for replies from our expert team.

Sending you welcoming hugs, Barb xx 

Thank you.  I really hope you get some guidance and support so you can focus on you!   

Thanks so much for all of this info Barb. There's so much to take in so I appreciate all this guidance x

Hello Cakenport

It sounds like you have been through a lot already.  I think many of us can relate to some of your experiences.

Macmillan have been great for me, at helping with financial concerns as well as support throughout treatments and advice.

I was also told by the community nursing team, that the Citizens Advice are great for support and advice.

You can speak to your consultant and request a genetic test. Its just a blood test. My experience was the same, both my mother and Grandmother had the same as myself at exactly the same age. (51)  the test will be able to tell if genetic -( lynch syndrome.) My test came back confirming this was the case for me.

I hope everything works out well for you. You will get a lot of helpful advice and support from this chat.

Thank you Shellie69 I hope you're doing well yourself. I went on a bit of a mission with GP last week and asked for full bloods etc. (plus a few pills to take the edge off my panic modes) and she put in a referral for genetic testing so I'm just waiting to hear back whether I qualify for that :)

Thats good. I hope you are not waiting too long...One thing to be prepared for through this is a lot of waiting!

But hopefully all will get seen to fairly quickly. 

I'm sorry to hear you are experiencing feelings of panic. Again understandable, especially at the waiting stage. Try and build a good support team around you.

Keep us posted.