Embarrassing Illnesses

If you have been diagnosed with cancer, your treatment and medical care will probably be the first thing on your mind. But there are other aspects of your life to think about and it’s important to know exactly what kind of assistance is available and where you can get it.

If you are finding it hard to cope with day-to-day life, you should at first talk about your needs with your doctor or nurse, who will refer you to a social worker.  Your social worker will be responsible for assessing exactly the kind of help you should get. There are so many sources of help that it’s essential to have a social worker to guide you towards the correct course.

Social services can provide assistance with meals, laundry, or even a sitting service, who can come to your home. For more advanced care, an occupational therapist will be able to provide a more detailed assessment of your needs at home, making life easier by arranging equipment and fitting adaptations to your home.

A care attendant may also be organised to come and help with housework, dressing and washing, or even just to keep you company and give your carer a break. It’s advised that you look into this as soon as you can, since many care attendants have waiting lists.

Social care options include:

Care attendants

Crossroads is an organisation in England and Wales that helps carers for patients by visiting homes and taking over the responsibilities of care for a while. www.crossroads.org.uk Tel: 0845 450 0350

Meals on Wheels

Contact your local council about their meals on wheels service. They will usually be able to offer financial assistance to help pay for this. Go to www.local.direct.gov.uk for details of your eligibility.

Benefits

You may be eligible for income support, disability living allowance or attendance allowance. Get in touch with the Benefit Enquiry Line for more details: 0800 882200 (textphone 0800 243355).
On line at www.dwp.gov.uk.

Home Adaptations

Your occupational therapist will assess your home and make changes to create a comfortable and practical place to live during your treatment. This could mean anything from putting a shower downstairs to adding handrails around the house.

For more on support for patients and carers:

Macmillan

Cancer Backup

view information about Cancer of the breast female on www.nhs.co.uk »