Cancer patients to undergo benefit checks

[I1L2T3]

I sometimes wonder how some people get through their days being so tight. In this day and age measures like this won't save the country any money. Its just another example of the evil Tories at work....

 

The thing to remember is forums like this give people at all extremes of views and political viewpoints a platform to say things they would never say in civilised company. Take it all with a pinch of salt and all you can do is try and rise above it and stay civil, even when posters are doing their best to be provocative.

[janie48]

The thing to remember is forums like this give people at all extremes of views and political viewpoints a platform to say things they would never say in civilised company. Take it all with a pinch of salt and all you can do is try and rise above it and stay civil, even when posters are doing their best to be provocative.

 

he might have some difficulty with that.

[Frank Sidney]

Well it is the season of goodwill. Lets start by tipping a few cancer patients out of bed and sending them back down the mine...

 

Some people would roll their granny down the tip for 50p...

[HeadingNorth]

so why cant you claim carers allowance if your not working ?or even why cant you work part time ?

 

I could work part time if I chose. I choose not to because we have enough money coming in that I don't need to.

 

I spent a long time living fairly frugally and saving money. We have enough now, that we can live fairly comfortably and not need to seek work.

[HeadingNorth]

There's not much hope for humanity if you want to force someone coping with the trauma of cancer to work. You'd have Tiny Tim climbing up a chimney because he had two good arms.

 

I do not, and would not. I don't know why you assume that wanting to have people checked to see if they are fit for work, automatically means wanting them to be made to go to work. I've spent enough time arguing that the current system of checks is deeply flawed and needs a radical overhaul, but maybe you didn't read any of those threads.

[Suffragette1]

But there are all sorts of different factors at play, including survival chances, the treatment, and long term effects of the illness and the treatment.

 

I just fail to see why the word "cancer" means the patients of this disease should be treated any differently to patients with different diseases when it comes to benefits.

 

There are all sorts of different cancers, with a variety of survival rates and horribleness of treatments:

 

http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0000Jr

 

Frank might think I deserved a Blue Peter badge, but the attitude to get on with life wherever possible is definitely the most common one imho. However, I fail to see why somebody diagnosed with a cancer with almost 100% survival probability, receiving chemotherapy with few side effects, should be unable to work, or off limits from questions if they apply for benefits.

 

My survival chances were put at 85% so I was always optimistic, and although the treatment was horrible, I felt that to apply for some of the benefits that I was told I was entitled to was a fraud, so I didn't.

 

As with everything in life, most people give and take, whilst some people only take. If we are not allowed to question the integrity of cancer patients simply because, well, err, it's cancer, it's taboo, then the latter will take advantage.

 

I agree, there are a multitude of factors at play here and maybe with the advances in medicine, at some point in the future, people will be able to work whilst undergoing cancer treatments. However, I do fear that having added stresses at a time when someone is trying to come to terms with the fact that they have a potentially life threatening illness, they will be subjected to having to prove that they are not fit for work. Yes, the current system is open to abuse and I happen to know someone who had a non-metastatic form of cancer and was quite able to work after the initial diagnosis was finally made, decided to avail herself of the 6 month full paid sick leave scheme. However, as with all safety nets, they are there to protect those in genuine need, yes they're open to abuse, however we should not lose sight of the fact that they protect the majority, in my view.

 

My understanding is that chemotherapies generally weaken the immune system. That in itself would be reason enough to stay away from many workplaces. Certainly if I were in that position, I wouldn't be rushing back to my office if I were immunodeficient with the number of people who have some viral infection or other, even if I felt well enough to do so. From an employer's perspective, I would rather know that someone were off for a fixed block of time so that I could arrange cover, than have someone coming in on an ad hoc basis when they felt well enough to and not knowing how their workload was to be managed throughout the duration of their treatment.

[ricgem2002]

I could work part time if I chose. I choose not to because we have enough money coming in that I don't need to.

 

I spent a long time living fairly frugally and saving money. We have enough now, that we can live fairly comfortably and not need to seek work.

fair do s but you gave me the impression that something was amiss about claiming carers allowance. now i know that you earn to much to get this allowance i understand

[Mecky]

One of my teamates at work contracted terminal cancer and had to go through extensive chemotherapy. He got no end of threatening letters from work becuase of having to have time off. He was dead 9 months later