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'We even lost our house': Cancer patients facing crippling costs of as much as €1,000 a month

A new report from the Irish Cancer Society suggests cancer patients are also facing huge losses in earnings.

CANCER PATIENTS ARE facing huge costs and a crippling loss to their earnings, with some spending over €1,000 a month according to a new report from the Irish Cancer Society.

Its second Real Cost of Cancer Report found that cancer patients are spending an average of €756 a month through medical expenses that can’t be claimed back, costs associated with appointments, increased day-to-day living costs and other expenses they didn’t have before being diagnosed with cancer. 

The expenses around hospital visits – petrol, parking and eating at the hospital – came to an average of €291 a month. The average cost of medicines was around €261 a month.

Similarly, cancer patients are losing an average of €18,000 a year in income, or €1,500 a month, as a result of their diagnosis.

Three in four people had their employment circumstances changed in some way post diagnosis. 

The report contains testimonies from some of the research participants, giving an insight into their own experience.

One said: “It has changed our lives completely, but we now value each day that comes. OK, financially we would have been better off but what is money when it comes to one’s health? We were fortunate as we had no mortgage and just general out going expenses to meet.”

Another wrote: “The financial strain led to serious resentment from my husband and the breakup of our marriage in the end.”

One respondent highlighted how they lost their home as a result of the financial strain caused by a cancer diagnosis.

The person said: “It’s caused severe stress on us daily. Going from two excellent long-term full-time careers to social welfare. We even lost our house to the bank and I have missed appointments as we had no petrol to go.”

And another said:

Very difficult making it on social welfare and the stigma of going to their office twice after surgery and then at treatment time. My employer told me to draw my pension fund. It was a stressful time as my child was only 3 at time of diagnosis.

To help support cancer patients, the Irish Cancer Society has called for a number of measures to be implemented.

This includes a reduction in the Drug Payment Scheme threshold to €100 per month for a family and €72 a month for single people. Simon Harris told the Dáil in July that such a measure would cost the Exchequer over €30 million. 

It also calls for an abolition of the €80 inpatient charge, reduced car parking charges for cancer patients and an immediate end to the HSE practice of referring unpaid inpatient charges to debt collectors.

Irish Cancer Society CEO Averil Power said: “At a time where they should be focusing on their health and getting through their cancer treatment, they are worrying about bills stacking up.

Most patients and often their partners are already suffering huge losses in income. This can result in people having to choose between paying hospital charges over putting the heating on. It could also mean choosing to buy medication over putting food on the table. Nobody should have to make that choice.

The Irish Cancer Society’s research is based on the participation of 514 people between May and June 2019. The report is available here

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    Mute Malachy
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    Nov 26th 2019, 7:42 AM

    Parking at a hospital is unbelievable

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    Mute Jessie Ginger
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:39 AM

    @Malachy: patients should park for free. i cannot understand it.

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    Mute keano
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:38 AM

    Found myself in this unfortunate position recently, diagnosed with cancer, unable to work for 6mths while I underwent treatment.
    Social welfare was around €900 p/m, having to visit my GP every week to get sick cert & post them off it was hell & I had amazing support, couldn’t imagine having to do it on my own. It really makes me angry to think that after years of paying over double my social welfare payment p/m I could have found myself unable to even cover my side of the mortgage with 3 kids. The pressure & stress on the whole family was horrendous. I cost the state practically nothing as I had private healthcare, but private healthcare as I found out is only half the story, If it wasn’t for my work making up the difference in salary my family would have been in financial ruin.

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    Mute Amie Mc Manus
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:44 AM

    @keano: best of luck with all your treatment, wishing u a speedy recovery.

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    Mute keano
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:20 AM

    @Amie Mc Manus: thanks Amie, I lucky enough to be out the other side … New Chapter !

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    Mute Alan Scott
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:18 AM

    These are the people who should be helped and not the restaurant owner who owes millions of Euro out in the most influential part of Dublin because he would not pay his mortgage through his own fault

    207
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    Mute Jessie Ginger
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:42 AM

    @Alan Scott: let’s not forget the government printer and broadband

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    Mute The Guru
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    Nov 26th 2019, 7:38 AM

    If you can afford it, definitely get income protection and specified illness insurance. Ridiculous that so many people can be financially ruined by an illness, let alone the emotional toll.

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    Mute Vic's Burd
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:54 AM

    @The Guru: those type of insurance cost a lot unless you start taking it in your 20’s. I was quoted €175pm extra for illness cover 10 years ago, because I was over 35, put me off taking it out.

    It can be a nightmare to claim for too, as my friend recently found out.

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    Mute keano
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:37 AM

    @The Guru: I think the social welfare should be linked to your salary, if I’m paying 1500/1600 a month tax for 10/15 years should I not get more than the guy who pays nothing when I am unable to work ? .The better your salary the more expense you are likely to have so the harder hit you are when 5h1t hits the fan. Am I being discriminatory or unreasonable??

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    Mute Jessie Ginger
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:43 AM

    @The Guru: get a grip

    3
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    Mute Jessie Ginger
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:43 AM

    @keano: i think that’s what they do in Switzerland.

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    Mute Tony Henry
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    Nov 26th 2019, 11:25 AM

    @keano: I would agree….. if your self employed it’s even worse, I was out of work for 9 months and it took social welfare 11 months to process unemployment benefit…. All taxes paid too…..no medical card, no mortgage assistance nothing…. nearly lost my house!! Can only imagine what it would be like to deal with if I had cancer……. 3/4 kids never worked a day, Free House, medical card, social welfare, Christmas bonus, back to school allowance, heating allowance, a healthy Micky money cheque….. it’s too easy out there for some!!

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    Mute keano
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    Nov 26th 2019, 9:41 PM

    @Tony Henry: it makes me so angry that the people who get up and go out to work everyday, the people who cost the country nothing , the people who get fleeced in taxes, income tax, VRT, property tax etc etc are the people who get shafted when they find themselves unable to work. If you’ve never worked everything is handed to you, sure you won’t live in luxury but the bank isn’t going to come and take your house if you find yourself unable to work. It really is a Very unfair world !

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    Mute Chris Proby
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    Nov 26th 2019, 11:30 PM

    @The Guru: I took out an income protection policy when I bought my house in 2012, payments of approx €27.50pm. In 2015 I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and I relapsed at the end of 2016 after beating it the first time. I was out of work for 3 years as a result of my illness. I would have been absolutely lost without that policy! I’m so glad I took out that policy when I did, it’s horrific enough going through what I did without worrying so much about finances. Unfortunately, as others pointed out, if you don’t take it out young it can become a very expensive policy to take out.

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    Mute Peter Cavey
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    Nov 26th 2019, 7:41 AM

    65 Euro a week for life saving treatment and the journal finds a way to make this an anti government story. Hundreds of millions of people around the world would bite your hand off to only pay 65 Euro a week for chemotherapy.

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    Mute sue
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    Nov 26th 2019, 7:49 AM

    @Peter Cavey: that may be true, but does that mean we would turn away from some of our most vulnerable in society? There are small things that can be done to reduce hardship, for example look at parking. Hospital car parks should be free for patients and relatives. If shopping centres can validate parking if you buy something, hospitals should have the same option for patients.

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    Mute Thomas Maher
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:05 AM

    @Peter Cavey: you think the journal is anti-government???

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    Mute Stephen Walshe
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:06 AM

    @Peter Cavey: the whole point of this article is to point out that an already stressful time, is exacerbated by certain long term costs associated with the illness, and that because one person gets sick it has far reaching affects, which can ruin a family. It’s fair from an anti government story only asking for help in hard times, a little sympathy would go astray here. Try pay for parking, food travel to hospital,the person who travels with the patient cost rack up.

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    Mute Stephen Walshe
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:07 AM

    @Stephen Walshe: wouldn’t***

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    Mute windbag
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:11 AM

    @Peter Cavey: what …??? Anti government…

    24
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    Mute Anne Marie Devlin
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:13 AM

    @Peter Cavey: plus €80 inpatient fee, getting to a hospital if you live outside dublin. It soon adds up.

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    Mute Gordon Hughes
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:35 AM

    @sue: The most vunerable in society have transport provided to and from all treatment free of charge

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    Mute Mirabelle Stonegate
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:41 AM

    @Peter Cavey: I wouldn’t be able to afford that if I got cancer. I’d just have to let it kill me.

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    Mute Joan Murray
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:30 AM

    @sue: max parking rate per 24 hours for day patients is €5 at St James, irrespective of number of in and outs in a 24 hr time frame,and same for 1 visitor parking for inpatients. So close family and carers can set up a roster for visits, and only pay for €5 parking between them. I think that is fair enough, as there is a limit to the number of spaces available.

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    Mute Jessie Ginger
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:40 AM

    @Peter Cavey: wow Peter… you’re a really nice guy! imagine having such little empathy

    18
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    Mute Jessie Ginger
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:41 AM

    @Joan Murray: I don’t think profiting from sick people is fair enough

    18
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    Mute sue
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    Nov 26th 2019, 11:14 AM

    @Joan Murray: parking is only one example. Mind you €5 a day quickly adds up and could be a choice between parking and cooking a family meal.

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    Mute MaryLou Silvester-Carr
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    Nov 26th 2019, 9:00 AM

    In St. Vincent’s hospital in Dublin if you’re visiting a patient who has cancer if you go to administration you can get parking fees waived and just pay €5 a week. Not sure but this could possibly apply to all hospitals, so it’s well worth checking out! If so this should be made public and not hidden!

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    Mute Sirius
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    Nov 26th 2019, 9:33 AM

    @MaryLou Silvester-Carr: similar situation in University Hospital Waterford, however, there isn’t any signs up around the hospital advertising this fact.

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    Mute Arch Angel
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    Nov 26th 2019, 12:24 PM

    @MaryLou Silvester-Carr: I remember speaking to an elderly lady in hospital, years ago, her husband, also elderly, visited her every day but parked some distance away because of the exorbitant hospital parking fees. He just couldn’t afford them. He then walked quite a distance from his car to the hospital to see his wife, she later told me that he had a heart condition.
    Over the years I’ve met other people who’ve been put to enormous financial strain due to illness, myself included, and afraid or embarrassed to say anything about it. In many cases they only manage to survive on the generosity of friends and relatives, but even they can’t pay additional mortgages forever.
    While income insurance is a good idea it’s worth getting advice on this and reading the fine print, when it comes time to avail of it some surprising things may disqualify.

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    Mute Rob67
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    Nov 26th 2019, 7:47 AM

    If a person is dependent on the HSE for treatment, their stress levels around additional costs could be removed by not applying these extra charges to them. I would recommend that they should invest in income protection upon diagnosis so as to ward off the worst financial effects but SW should be at a level to make life affordable during treatment if they need it.

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    Mute Niamh Muireannín
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    Nov 26th 2019, 7:55 AM

    @Rob67: Once you have a diagnosis you can’t get salary protection because the illness is deemed pre existing. I know this because a colleague had cancer and when ran out of paid sick leave was in a terrible way financially. We had a collection at work. An awful stressful situation to be in.

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    Mute Anne Marie Devlin
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    Nov 26th 2019, 7:57 AM

    @Rob67: I don’t think you can get income protection after diagnosis. Insurance companies often do their utmost to refuse payment. My brother in law was turned down for payment after he had a heart attack. They said it was an underlying undeclared illness even though he knew nothing about it, had never been treated for any sort of heart condition. The stress of the unsuccessful battle with the insurance company was almost worse than the stress of the medical condition. There have been loads of similar stories with income protection and you have to read the small print extremely carefully.

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    Mute Conall
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    Nov 26th 2019, 7:58 AM

    @Rob67: You can’t buy income protection after diagnosis – stable door, horse bolted, etc. You have to buy it when you are healthy – if you know you’re sick, it’s invalidated

    37
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    Mute Jason Ebbs
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    Nov 26th 2019, 7:58 AM

    @Rob67: you would be doing extremely well to get any type of protection AFTER diagnosis, and if you were to get it imagine the cost of it when you tell the insurance company you have cancer.

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    Mute Jun Stone
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:38 AM

    @Rob67: not possible as it would be an existing illness, I work in a hospital and I’ve had cancer, same with straightforward health insurance.

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    Mute Rob67
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    Nov 26th 2019, 11:44 AM

    @Rob67: thanks for the update, really appreciate it, I suppose we were lucky in that case when my wife was diagnosed, as we had the policy in place, she got the all clear a few months later but I just remember the stress. It is not right to impose additional stress on a person in such conditions.

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    Mute JD
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    Nov 26th 2019, 9:11 AM

    Go to prison and you get all of medical expenses looked after.

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    Mute Philip Siggins
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:33 AM

    “It would cost €30 million”, but the same jackasses in government gave €210 millions last year to Hamas what are essentially a terrorist organisation, maybe they siphon off a fraction of this for our own people.

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    Mute Kath Noonan
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    Nov 26th 2019, 9:58 AM

    Freedom of speech is gone on the Journal. Won’t post anti FG even though language or tone is not offensive

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    Mute Jessie Ginger
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:44 AM

    @Kath Noonan: I just did

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    Mute Jessie Ginger
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    Nov 26th 2019, 10:39 AM

    A vote for FG or FF is a vote for this. I wonder are any of those surveyed part of the cervical check debacle… imagine!

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    Mute William O Connor
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:47 PM

    30 million …nothing compares to what the government wastes ..water meters and the debacale cost 300million

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    Mute Pauline Gallagher
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:29 PM

    The amount of absolute tossers who are bailed out. The enormous waste and mismanagement of tax payers money in the HSE. Having cancer is already the worst thing to happen them in their lives and then financial ruin comes after. Absolute disgrace.

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    Mute Barry Foster
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    Nov 27th 2019, 3:59 PM

    These are the people who deserve rapid targeted assistance.However it seems this Government reserves the kind of energy and initiative that is needed for the likes of Lisa Smith. Total expenditure to date for her repatriation is in excess of 1.7 million euros.

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    Mute William O Connor
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    Nov 26th 2019, 8:45 PM

    A dispinsation should be given to all cancer patients for parking 1 car only . Dont all cancer patients get given a medical card for drug cost ??? ..

    1
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