Now, more than ever, people living with cancer need to be able to get the right treatment, care and support, at the right time.
Find out how you can take action to stop cancer becoming the forgotten ‘C’ in your nation.
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Now, more than ever, people living with cancer need to be able to get the right treatment, care and support, at the right time.
Find out how you can take action to stop cancer becoming the forgotten ‘C’ in your nation.
With your help we’ve really changed things for the better. Together, we’ve spoken out about the financial impact of cancer, support for people after cancer treatment ends, welfare cuts, the lack of support for carers and improving care at the end of life.
See which areas we have successfully campaigned for improving the lives of people living with cancer.
Become part of a movement of over 25,000 campaigners across the UK.
In May 2019, we received a huge campaign win when the Treasury Select Committee backed Macmillan’s call for the introduction of a legal Duty of Care on the financial services sector. In a new report, which was about consumer access to financial services, the Committee stated:
'If the FCA is unable to enforce such behaviour in firms under its current rule book and principles, the Committee would support a legal duty of care.'
Macmillan Cancer Support has been calling for this since 2016 in order to ensure that the financial shock of cancer doesn’t turn into a crisis.
We’re delighted that the Treasury Select Committee, an influential Committee in Parliament, will seek to hold both the Government and the Financial Conduct Authority to account in delivering positive change for people living with cancer.
In summer 2019, Macmillan will launch an exciting and moving booklet. It focuses on real-life stories, delves into the financial impact of cancer and addresses the urgent need for a legal Duty of Care. Sign up to become a campaigner so you can take further action and help us make the Duty of Care a reality.
Every day we hear from people who are having trouble getting travel insurance cover. In 2017 we launched our ‘Give us a break’ campaign to raise awareness of the issues that people with cancer tend to experience when they’re trying to get travel insurance.
More than 400 people shared their experience of accessing travel insurance with us, which gave a valuable insight into the problems many people face before, during or after treatment.
We're continuing to campaign to make sure people with cancer can access clear and fairly priced travel insurance policies.
Our campaign aims to make sure everyone gets the support they need to cope with the financial impact of cancer.
Many people aged 65 and over with cancer rely on Attendance Allowance for help with things they can’t manage themselves, like bathing, dressing or getting around.
We're continuing to campaign to make sure everyone gets the help they need to cope with the money worries that cancer can bring.
Too many people across the UK are not getting the support they need when treatment ends, and this needs to change.
In 2017 we campaigned to raise awareness of the different support needs people have once treatment ends.
We have campaigned with the belief that at the end of life, everyone should be able to die in the place and manner of their choosing.
The Government committed to deliver high quality, personalised care for everyone at the end of life; a massive campaign success won by our campaigners in 2016. Our priority has been to keep this commitment high on the agenda and bring it to reality.
We're continuing to campaign for better end of life care and support for people with cancer at the end of life.
It's now been three years since the government promised to deliver high quality, personalised care for everyone at the end of life. Join us and take action this summer to ensure this happens for people living with cancer.
Evidence from the Wales Cancer Patient Experience Survey showed that many people are not getting the information they need to understand their cancer treatment.
In response, Macmillan Wales created Your Cancer Care in Wales, an information guide to help people with cancer find the information they need to understand cancer treatment in Wales.
Together we have a record of delivering campaign victories. Over the years your calls for change have been heard, and they’ve made a big difference to the lives of people affected by cancer.
Here are just some of the changes you've helped us achieve:
In 2013 we released a report looking at the situation in England. We found huge variations, with some hospitals offering free parking and others charging up to £3 an hour.
We wanted to see action to tackle car parking fees for cancer patients attending hospital for life saving treatment.
Cancer patients will often need to make frequent trips to hospital for treatment, and unaffordable charges are leaving many out of pocket.
Thanks to you, we had some success across the UK, and most hospitals in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland now offer free parking for cancer patients.
In England, despite government guidance stating that hospitals should offer free or reduced parking to cancer patients, some still face having to pay extortionate parking charges in order to access treatment. Patients can also face huge variations in cost depending on which hospital they attend.
If this is an issue in your area, why not email your MP and ask them to raise it with the local hospital trusts, who decide on parking charges.
I was going back and forth to hospital for tests and my husband would have to keep running out and topping up the meter.
Charmaine, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009
We campaigned for additional financial support for people with cancer who were in particular need and struggling with their energy bills.
As part of the campaign, we created a giant knitting machine (infi-knit) to highlight the impact of fuel poverty on people with cancer.
Campaigner messages, about keeping warm, were knitted together to make a giant woolly scarf petition. Over 5,000 people took part, making the scarf over 127 metres long.
Macmillan campaigners presented our giant woolly scarf petition to Greg Barker MP, the government minister responsible for fuel poverty at the time.
In England, Scotland and Wales the Government announced the Warm Home Discount Scheme to help people struggling to pay their energy bills. Macmillan campaigned to ensure that people with cancer were considered under the scheme.
Following Macmillan’s campaign, the Northern Ireland Executive gave cancer patients a one off payment of £100 to help with their fuel bills. This was much needed help for cancer patients who faced difficulties in paying their heating bills after going through treatment; at least 4,200 cancer patientswere expected to be helped by this funding.
Since 2004, we’ve been working with npower to help people with cancer keep warm without the worry.
It was great to meet the minister, who took our concerns seriously. When my husband Dennis was being treated for cancer he really suffered from the cold. Our bills went through the roof and worrying about how we were going to pay them was the last thing we needed.
Joy, Macmillan Campaigner
In 2011 the government announced plans to make sweeping changes to the welfare system. Macmillan agreed that the system needed to be simplified.
But the proposals could have pushed some people with cancer and their families into poverty.
That’s why we campaigned to ‘Put the Fair into Welfare’.
With your support, we made sure the needs of people affected by cancer were recognised by the Government. And we couldn’t have done it without you.
Some people with cancer were to lose their Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) after just one year:
People with cancer were treated differently:
Plans for a six month wait for financial support. It was proposed that people with cancer would have to wait six months before applying to Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
We're still working to put the fair into welfare. Join the campaign to make sure that government changes to the welfare system don’t have a detrimental impact on people affected by cancer.
CloseWithout support many carers struggle to cope.
Since 2013 we have campaigned to improve identification and support for cancer carers across the UK and, with your help, we have made a real difference.
You can see some of the things we campaigned to change in our report, Do you care? [PDF, 1.92 MB].
In Scotland, Macmillan worked with other charities to influence the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016. This new law means more carers should get a ‘Carer’s Support Plan’ to give them social and financial help.
Find out more about our work in Scotland.
Find out more about our work in Wales.
We're still working to improve support for carers. Join the campaign to tackle the carers’ crisis.
CloseWe want everyone with cancer to receive the right level of treatment and support, regardless of who they are and where they live. Signing up as a campaigner is just one way you can help.
We've got lots of opportunities to make your time matter with Macmillan. Find out about available opportunities to volunteer and apply today.
At Macmillan Cancer Support, we work with Government and politicians across the UK to improve care and support at every stage of the cancer journey.
Every campaign needs robust policy and research to back it up. At Macmillan Cancer Support, we listen to people affected by cancer and work together to improve cancer care and fight inequalities.
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