Cost of living crisis: mum with terminal cancer fears fuel bill hike

Mrs Finlay, from Inverness, was diagnosed with primary breast cancer in April 2018. She had a lumpectomy and six rounds of chemotherapy along with 28 rounds of radiotherapy followed up with a year’s worth of Herceptin injections as an immunotherapy drug to try to concentrate on the cancer.

Being cold and having the health problems that I do, I can easily get infections. It might kill me off

By June 2019 she was complaining of hip pain but carried on to complete a 10k in October 2019. However, the pain increased and by December 2020 she couldn’t walk.
When she got through to her GP she was referred to a physiotherapist, but she knew something wasn’t right.
“I sent a photograph of my knee to the physiotherapist who sent it to my GP who told me to go to A&E,” she added.
“A week later, after an x-ray, I got to see an orthopaedic surgeon who confirmed I had metastatic cancer. It’s very extensive. It’s now in my lungs, skull, lower spine, pelvis, both legs, it’s in my bone marrow and has coated the outside of my legs so I can’t walk. And now it’s in my chest cavity, wrapped around my left lung, blood vessels and everything else.”

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As well as the worry the effect her cancer has on her husband Thomas and son Joseph, seven, it is the financial aspects that scare her. It is why she is speaking out for Fuel Poverty Awareness Day today. She is also supporting Marie Curie cancer charity’s Dying in Poverty campaign and has added her name to an online petition.

Melanie Finlay, left on her wedding day in April, and right during treatment (Image: Marie Curie)
It is calling for a range of measures to help terminally ill people who are struggling with the cost of living at the end of their lives.  
Mrs Finlay added: “We literally had the heat on permanently all the way through last winter. Very low, ticking over. We actually phoned up Scottish Gas to get advice regarding it because we could not have a cold house. It is very scary. Our weekly bills have gone from £30 to £60.
“As soon my bones get cold, they hurt. It’s very painful. We have to keep the house warm, but with the energy prices going up we can’t do that. There’s no way we’re going to be able to afford it.”

Soaring energy bills are crippling many families (Image: PA)
Living in rented accommodation, she says she also feels penalised being on a prepay meter.
“It’s not like we have a couple of days to try and sort the payments out like you would on a bill,” she added. “On a prepay meter, when it goes, it goes. So, we have to be more cautious about what we put on the gas and what we put on the electricity.
“My biggest fear is this winter because I don’t think we will be able to heat the house like we did last winter. I’m worried that if I take a chronic illness retirement which is going to be based on my private pension that I’ve got through the police, I won’t have enough money to sustain us.
“I’ve been lucky that I’ve still got a wage coming through. It’s not my full wage but I’ve still got money coming through from my employer. I work for the police, and they’ve been really very supportive. I applied to PIP last year which I now get. It took nearly five months for it to come. I really do think the government needs to step in and do more."
The cost of fuel has also had an impact as there are frequent trips to and from hospital for scans or injections, but Mrs Finlay is now looking to lessen that burden with home visits from district nurses for routine blood tests.
Mrs Finlay, who married her partner Thomas earlier this year, said: “Thomas technically works full time, but he’s also my carer. He has to look after me, take me to the hospital. He also has to look after our seven-year-old son. He has to take him to school, drop him off, pick him up. He is physically having to reduce his work to look after me and my son - which means he has a reduction in his salary. Whilst as a cancer patient I might feel like I’m not being penalised, my partner is.”
As a family they have good days and bad with Mrs Finlay adding: “Thomas does everything now. He fears about me going which is completely understandable and he worries about the future between him and Joseph. Our son knows that mummy’s poorly, but he doesn’t know to the extent because I didn’t want him to lose his childhood. I don’t want him to worry, which he would, because he’s seven. We keep on talking about going to places and going to do things. That is the whole purpose of making memories.”
Marie Curie is calling for the Scottish Government to commit to increasing the Child Payment for terminally ill claimants with dependent children, extending eligibility for the upcoming Scottish Carer’s Assistance for up to six months after the person’s caring role ends, and extending eligibility of the upcoming Winter Heating Assistance to all terminally ill people, even if they are under 65. 
Ellie Wagstaff, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Marie Curie, Scotland, said one in eight pensioners in Scotland are dying in poverty at the end of life. 
She said: “The ‘double burden’ of income loss and increased costs brought on by a terminal illness can leave people struggling to make ends meet, and force those who were already on the threshold, below the poverty line, especially terminally ill people with dependent children.  
“There is an urgent need for systematic reform from Scottish Government and Westminster to ensure that terminally ill people, their families and carers are not faced with unprecedented financial hardship in the final years, months, weeks, days and hours of their lives. This will require a whole-system approach, collaboration and transformative leadership on national and local levels.”

The ‘double burden’ of income loss and increased costs brought on by a terminal illness can leave people struggling to make ends meet

A Scottish Government spokesperson said they have called on the UK Government to target additional support for those who are already struggling, including an increase in Social Security benefits in line with inflation and an increase in Universal Credit, with a permanent £25 uplift which should be extended to means-tested legacy benefits. 
They added: “We are doing what we can to help families, within the limited powers we have. We have allocated almost £3 billion in this financial year, that will be helping households face the increased cost of living, including £1 billion in providing services and financial support not available elsewhere in the UK including increasing Scottish Child Payment by 150% in less than eight months to £25 per eligible child per week.  
“Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment provide people who are terminally ill with fast-tracked access to financial assistance, at the highest rates they are entitled to. We would encourage anyone who thinks they might be eligible, to apply.
“In addition, our new Winter Heating Payment which begins in February 2023 will provide a reliable annual payment of £50 automatically to around 400,000 people on low incomes to support them with their fuel bills.”

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