As I received this life-changing news , I thought about how my family would react, and the treatment I was about to undergo. How does a cancer patient manage the cost? I first noticed the lump in my breast back in April, the result of a check while I was getting dressed.
There was no panic, just a practical decision made to contact my GP. Following an initial consultation there were a significant number of appointments with breast surgeons and oncologists over 10 weeks, as well as scans β many of which meant mile drives. One was teaching other bakers how to run a business, mainly online, but the other was as a wedding cake maker.
But after my diagnosis, hospital visits took at least one day out of each working week, meaning I had to postpone and cancel online training and squeeze cake preparation into fewer days. But there was another issue. The thing with wedding cakes is that they are often booked at least a year in advance β sometimes two years or more.
So, over the summer months of , while I was undergoing all the initial post-diagnosis checks and starting treatment, I had to make plans to close my business. Once my initial round of tests, scans and results appointments finished, and I had my final diagnosis and the routines kicked in, things got slightly better. My hospital trust gives free parking to cancer patients, for example.
And it worked. My plans are now to pay off my mortgage in the next two years. And my advice is simple to anyone who finds themselves affected by cancer and subsequent financial struggles: Visit the Macmillan website for financial advice. They have a simple online form that can point you in the direction of help for your situation, as well as a comprehensive list of resources and links that could help; they even offer advice on the cost of looking after your pets.
