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Ninja yes you need a form from GP or pharmacist fill in and ask surgery to verify and send off form. You will receive a small credit card sized card entitling you to free prescriptions for 5 yrs. J xx
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Agree that we should be told rather than have to ask - I had to ask my GP for form etc… I was prompted by sign up in hospital but no one volunteered the info.
These forums are so useful - need to now study the DLA info on another threawd as I think I must now qualify as can’t walk with sore feet from chemo and sore spine so need help with socks etc.
hi
I totally agree i wasn’t informed of this by BCN or consultants and have spent alot of money on prescriptions, i only found out from my friend who is a nurse that she thought i was entitiled to free prescriptions and to check with my doctor.
Surely this should be part of the “pack” that the BCN initially gives you.
Terri
Hi Ninja
The BCN did everything for me, gave me the form to sign and sent it out for me… I guess I was lucky to get an efficient BCN! Are you being treated at St James or LGI?
My chemo nurse gave me the form, and she got it signed by my onc. I just had to fill in my details and send it off. The card came really quickly too, I was quite impressed. I believe it covers any prescriptions too, even if unrelated to BC, although I might be wrong in that. When I have got prescriptions I have just ticked the medical exemption box and no-one has even questioned it or asked to see my card.
If by any chance you have receipts for the prescriptions you have already had you never know you might be able to claim them back. Worth asking anyway!
Best wishes for your treatment xx
Hi – I’m really disappointed to hear that some people with cancer aren’t automatically being told about free prescriptions in England – BCC and a lot of us ordinary people in cancer-land campaigned vigorously for this change, and were delighted when it came through. I’m now over 60, so get free prescriptions for being old, but yes, you should definitely apply quickly for your exemption card, and yes it does cover prescriptions for anything you need, not just cancer-related.
Now . . . Fran – please do request your application for DLA as soon as possible; if your application is successful, your entitlement will start on the date you request your application. Also, please do get some good advice about completing the application, from Macmillan nurse/benefits expert, CAB, hospice, etc., as it’s quite a complex and long one. When I first applied for DLA after my liver & bone met dx, my GP signed a DS1500 “special measures” form, which stated that I wasn’t expected to live for more than 6 months (well, I wasn’t!), and that meant that (a) I didn’t have to complete the whole application, and (b) the benefit was paid earlier than might have been usual. Don’t know if your GP or onc might feel able to sign this – if they do, please remember that none of us knows how long we’ll be around! If you do a search on these forums for DLA, you will find a lot of posts from those of us with secondary BC who have applied for this benefit, and/or – like me – have had our entitlement reviewed recently.
Marilyn x
Yes, it covers all prescriptions, not just BC related.
I only found out by notice on wall at hospital.
I had heard that you get free prescriptions and asked by bcn and she said yes. I have also applied to DLA. The mcmillian lady filled it in for me, it can take 6-8 weeks to get a reply, and it takes nearly that long to fill it in. If you get DLA you will automatically get a blue badge, or else apply for one separately.
Good luck BD x
I only found out about this facility by seeing a vague reference to this on one of the other threads a few months ago!! I immediately went to my GP and got the forms and sent them off and now have my card.
Its astonishing to me that we are not all told about this at diagnosis. I wonder that there is not a leaflet in with the bumpf that your BCN gives you?..
Does the BCC have a leaflet about it, could they have or include it with another of their publications?
Wandyx
This was practically the first thing I was handed by my BCN on dx, and you can ask for free prescriptions while applying, before the card arrives. I have never been asked to show my card either!
SJ x
It wasn’t mentioned to me by BCN or doctors, I knew about it because of research on the net - in fact when I asked for the form at my GPs they were unaware that people being treated for cancer were eligible. I almost apologised for wasting their time before i scanned the form and pointed out the relevant section.
It definitely needs promoting better.
My GP sorted this out for me as soon as I was dx. GP was very helpful as the prescriptions are very expensive, especially if you have to get a few items.
I hope they can be sorted out for you very soon.
Best wishes,
Isabelle.
As nearly everyone else has said, I had to ask for the form and was not offered it - why not? I only knew about free prescriptions for cancer patients because I had seen it on these forums.
Sarah x
Me too… only knew because of the ladies on this forum!
Another thing you can get is a seatbelt exemption form - I had huge trouble with seroma which made a seatbelt incrdibly painful to wear!!
I had to get the info for the GP because they were unaware - my son who is a Special constable put me on to this!
SJ xx
I was given a prescription from the ONC department to take to the hospital dispensary, I was asked if i paid for my prescriptions, i am over 60 so i don’t have to pay, as i was leaving i spotted a notice on the wall which said Cancer Patients go free. So if they don’t tell you lots of people who don’t know will be paying when they don’t need too. Even my doctors surgery haven’t informed me of this and don’t have any notices around. you can also claim help with travel if you are low income or benefits ie pension etc. Fuel if you travel by car 13p a mile, or train fare and bus fare with your ticket for proof. It costs a fortune for lots of things so any help you can get is good, it should be in the books they supply when you first go for your DK,or a separate leaflet telling you of any help that is available.
A guy at the hospital dispensary informed me. He sort of looked at my hat + scarf and then said quietly: I believe you’re undergoing cancer treatment, you can get free prescriptions as a cancer patient… He advised me to get the GP surgery to fill out a form, which they did, I signed it and a few weeks later my exemption card arrived.
BCN nor GP informed me…
Nikki
For people who have received their exemption cards, can I ask how long they took to come through please? I have been waiting for mine for 6 weeks now which seems a little excessive to me. No idea how to chase it up though.