Video: The cost of cancer

Tuesday, 21, Apr 2009 06:15

One in four cancer patients have difficulty keeping up with everyday payments. Learn how to keep your family financially safe in our video below.

We all worry about our health to a certain degree, but when it comes to more serious issues such as cancer it's still easy to take an 'out-of-sight, out-of-mind' approach. While many of us will know a female friend or family member who has been affected by the disease, we may still think it will never happen to us. Yet over 45,000 women across the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, that's more than 100 British women being diagnosed on a daily basis, and three quarters of women affected are under 70 years of age.

High profile celebrity cancer patients have helped increase public awareness in women's cancer. This combined with the positive changes to the way such issues are now talked about in society, and improvements in technology has lead to earlier diagnosis, meaning more women are able to successfully fight the disease. Breast cancer survival rates in particular have improved dramatically over the last 20 years - eight of ten of Britons would survive if we were diagnosed today. Yet any one of us could be struck down with cancer at any time - contrary to popular belief, the disease does not just affect those with a family history or poor lifestyle. And it's not just the health and emotional demands we need to think about, but the financial implications as well.

Many of us are unaware of the financial consequences a cancer diagnosis would have on our lives and family. With having to take time off work, many patients find themselves without enough money to cover the things we take for granted in good health, such as paying for bills or childcare costs. According to Macmillan Cancer Support, one in four cancer patients admit having difficulty keeping up with payments whilst fighting the disease - with many suffering real financial hardship. It's a stress we could all do without at a time when we should be concentrating on getting better.

For expert information on the risk and causes of female specific cancers, and how to insure you have the financial help you and your family need should you be diagnosed with cancer, watch the video below.

For more information visit www.wellwomanplan.co.uk