When a child is diagnosed with cancer life becomes full of fear, for them and their family.
And for families receiving the news today, it’s getting even more desperate.
We’re seeing the devastating consequences of the cost of living crisis in the UK. Families of children with cancer are having to make heart-breaking sacrifices to cope with the uncontrollable costs of cancer. The pressure is becoming unbearable and they are left having to make impossible choices. Like choosing between filling up the car with petrol to get to vital treatment or putting hot meals on the table. If you pay to put the heating on to keep your sick child warm, will there be enough left to pay the mortgage or rent this month?
A child or young person’s cancer diagnosis can leave them, their family and their finances shattered and running on empty.
We just can’t leave them to face this alone.
"You go into panic mode thinking 'how are we going to afford it?'"
Imogen’s story
When Imogen was sent for an ultrasound scan, doctors found a rare glandular tumour. She was three years old and suddenly ahead of her and her family was surgery and months of chemotherapy treatment.
“The costs of cancer all mount up so quickly. Originally we thought we were going to have to pay £500 for a B&B while Imogen was having surgery over the weekend. Keeping the family together was so important for us and Imogen has two other siblings we had to think about too. Luckily a space came up in a Young Lives vs Cancer Home from Home near the hospital, so it saved us from that huge financial hit. Suddenly, we could breathe.
“The costs are crippling”
We had to buy a new car to have something reliable to get us to hospital and back over the months. But the trips to hospital are so expensive. Like for fuel I would have spent £30 in a month, but now I spend £70 almost every week. Then the average parking cost is about £9 a day and sometimes we have to extend it so it’s even more. So you end up having to buy drinks and food for the family, which can sometimes be £40 in a day. The costs are crippling.
“The help from them has been life saving”
Without the support from Young Lives vs Cancer, it would have been a lot lot harder. In the moment you don’t know what you need until someone says ‘this is what we can do’. I wouldn’t have known who to go to, what to do, who can support you. The help from them has been life saving. It’s helped with my mental health because it’s taken the stress off a little.”
YOU CAN HELP TODAY
Young Lives vs Cancer is the charity that helps children and young people (under 25) and their families find the strength to face whatever cancer throws at them. But we can’t do it without you.