Sorry to be a pain because I know it’s already been discussed but I can’t find it, can anyone point me in the right direction of the info on holiday insurance please. I’ve been offered the use of a holiday home in Goa by a friend of mine, all I have to do is pay flights but I don’t know if or how I’ll get insurance.
Hi Crawfo
Am not sure where this was discussed on here but i got mine with insure pink even though will be travelling very soon after chemo , also been told miaonline is good too but my cancer is primary. A friend of mine with secondaries got a good deal with insurewith.com it can be done online but she found it easier to call them, they tend to deal well with longer health issues .Hope this helps
Sal
Thanks. I know it’s been discussed somewhere but can’t find where. If you google it there are companies offering insurance without medicals for all kinds of conditions, including cancer but I don’t want to be ripped off.
Hi, with secondary bc miaonline are by far the best and cheapest!! Happy holiday.
Sadie Xx
Thanks Sadie, I’ll give them a go then.
Hi - I am posting this here as there was previous discussion re pension and lump sum - and wondered if anyone has explored pension possibilities - I am working full time and have 2 pensions (one from former husb) and am 51 but may want to/need to access lump sum and pension sooner rather than later.
I have had financial advisor who suggested I fill in a form to transfer one of the pensions into one that will pay out enhanced benefits - but that involves filling in a form (which asks for details re incontinence etc) I am fortunately fine at the moment - though - as all have the symptoms of not being able to do too much (unfortunately) without needing rest and more rest afterwards !
Any info gratefully received !
hi Alison 44, im have just come to an agrement with pension company on the grounds of ill health, i have got a lump sum and a small monthly pension had to get a letter off oncol dr saying what my life expectancy is, apart from them draging out the process it was quite easy…
Hi
I’m currently off sick from the NHS as diagnosed with secondaries in my bones in February. I know I can’t claim ESA at the moment as in the NHS scheme, I get full pay for 6 months then go onto half pay. Do any of you know if I can claim ESA when I’m on half pay? (I was only working one day a week anyway, so what I get is not a lot!)
Thanks
Liz
PS My Macmillan Nurse both at the hospital and the advisors in the community have been really helpful and I think I’m now claiming all the benefits I can, except the ESA.
Hi there as far as Iam aware you can claim if you are only working less than 16 hrs per week so you might be entitled now.Good luck Teresa
Just out of interest, has any of you with secondaries have been unsuccessful in applying for DLA under the special rule.
I had a phone call today saying I can’t because they think I can live longer than 6 months!! But they will try to apply for me under the self care thing whatever that is and still no idea whether I can get it:-(
Posted more details under the “Employment, travel and financial issues” section. Just would like your view on this.
Thanks xx
Thanks Teresa, I’ll look into it.
Take care
Liz
Hi M1yu,
So me and you in the same boat with this DLA, I was told to apply for DLA, found out I had secondaries mets in lungs just after finding out about the primary tumour in my right breast earlier this year beginning of march.
Shortly afterwards I decided to apply for DLA. Phoned macmillan they started the ball rolling and I duly filled in the forms ticking the special rules, my GP filled in the DS1500, DLA phoned and did’nt agree with my GP’s opinion and filling in the DS1500 that I only had 6 months left to live, they now are waiting for my Onc to confirm the DS1500 and as he has just got back from the states has not had time to fill in there forms, too busy trying to help people suffering with cancer and not pen pushing!!! So if he fills it in then they might give me it if not then no they wont. I am so skint I have practically sold everything on ebay that was worth anything got to go through my jewellery next if this carries on, its been at least 8 weeks so far and still no word from them, macmillan keeps phoning them but they have not heard back from Onc yet, so no answer.
And it is totally ridiculous that a dr has to sign a form that stipulates how long someone has left to live, yet in the same breath they will review the DLA award in 3 years!!! how nuts is that!!! total contradiction.
There is no simple answer to your question (should be flippin simple) M1yu but dont hold your breath about this one, they seem to be tightening up on the DLA yet if you are a drug/alcholol addict you might get every benefit known to mankind, personally I feel we deserve the extra DLA money to help us through this utter nightmare.
I am still waiting for a reply about this and phone most days either macmillan or DLA, they even made out that I had filled the forms in incorrectly and totally ignored the fact that I ticked the special rules box, spent at least 2 weeks trying to get me to fill in the extra part of the forms (special rules do not have to fill in certain questions and sections of the forms), I think they are simply stalling for time, perhaps they think I might not make it so they wont have to pay any money out, this would not surprise me, but it is food for thought and will be making notes about this experience I feel a strong letter is on the cards.
I have lung mets claimed under special rules they ignored my box also but after a phone call was told it had been sorted I had no probs went straight through but I have also arthritis so that might of helped we don’t need the extra stress ESP if we really did only have 6 months to live my was done in march so don’t give up kp trying and appeal if u don’t get it someone looks at y claim again u have to spell out the bad days otherwise u won’t get a chance gd luck laura
I have secondary breast cancer and am receiving DLV. I have been off sick for 9 months and have run out of sick pay. I phoned the help line and they advised me to get an ESA form. Good luck.
So the DLA phoned me yesterday and told me that I had been refused on the grounds that they did’nt agree that I was a special rules case!!! (even though I have multiple secondaries to my lungs). They then asked me a question about my mobility and told me that they would make a decision and send out a letter although the letter might take 10 days to arrive!!! (so I have to wait 10 days for them to tell me I did’nt get it!!!) what sort of sick joke are these people.
Ok so the government are cracking down on benefit fraudsters etc but i’m not lying about my diagnoses, my GP has filled in the DS1500 but they did’nt agree with her presenting the form saying it was not necessarily appropriate, they have contacted my Onc he has not responded to there request for a report yet as he has just got back from holiday. This has been going on since April and still I dont know whether I am going to get anything at all. This is causing no end of stress and upset I just dont need it.
Sorry about the rant ladies but I just cant get my head around the fact that they seem to think I am lying to them or something. Its just ridiculous, I tell everyone about this nightmare with the DLA and people are disgusted with the way they have treated me, I’ve always worked and paid into the system and feel cheated out of what should be rightfully mine. What is the point in paying into a system that lets you down when you really really need it.
This is the first time that I have ever heard of anything like this sarahlouise.
If your Gp has completed the form, based on the reports he/she receives from your Onc, that should be sufficient.
If you do not have the energy, just ring and request a ‘reconsideration’ or get your Mac adviser to do it. Your case will be looked at by a different decision maker. I would also tell them that you are going to see yor MP.
If you do not get a fairly swift response I would actually do that. Remember decision makers have no medical expertise. On your form look at the section…how we came to our decision…This will tell you which actual twerp decided that the DS1500 issued by your GP was not medically relevant.
If you have the energy please let us know. This is either a disgraceful error or the start of draconian changes to benefits for those with secondary cancer.
I have just re read My1u’s post and am horrified as I suspect the latter.
Julie x
Hi Juliet66,
Thank god, I’m not going bonkers then, this is crazy, is’nt it!!!
Some people have said they have refused me due to the fact that I am going to be having mx surgery both primary and secondary found at the same time, this still does not take away from the fact that I have secondary cancer, I should be entitled to this benefit as others with the same diagnoses are receiving it. The woman I spoke with on the phone seemed to contradict herself saying that the decision makers or there doctors were the ones who made the decisions, then in the next breath she was saying that she would make a decision today!!! So who the hell is making the decisions, I reckon these people at the DLA are more corrupt than anyone else, I reckon they have lied to me on more than one occassion since all this started, first of all they had lost the form, then it was put in the wrong pigeon hole, then it was because my GP’s professionalism was being questioned, now its because my Onc has not got back to them due to his holiday and the fact that he’s so busy making sure all his patients are being cared for and not thinking I must fill in all those stupid forms for the DLA, lies lies lies thats what I reckon, just trying to get out of giving me any money, so that the government figures look good. What a load of total b**shit.
Thanks for the tip about contacting the MP something I will do.
I got the feeling when I spoke to the claim assessor for my DLA that the decision was his to make. The one I spoke to was lovely though and kept putting words into my mouth to support my claim, like at one point he said how he’d got the forms 4 days too late to backdate it, but they had been having problems with the internal post so did I think I might have posted it 5 days ago.
It’s totally unfair but it seems to me your claim could be rejected just because you get an assessor who’s a bit of jobsworth.
Having said that, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of anyone’s claim being rejected after you’ve been given a DS1500. I thought that was the hard part, and once you got that you were home and dry, It would seem that maybe it’s down to the government trying to save money.
Hi everyone.
I would like to know if anyone who has been claiming DLA for a few years has been called for a review. I just want to know how many of us are claiming and it you have had any trouble with an award or an appeal. I have been on DLA myself for many years. Just want to know how it is across the country. Thanks, Val
PS I hA
PS I have not heard a thing but keep wondering if the postman is going to deliver the dreaded letter to me. I have been assured that I have nothing to worry about but it is still on the “back boiler” of my mind and it gets me down. Val