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You can help make the last few days, weeks or months of someone’s life more comfortable by signing Marie Curie’s petition.
We all hope to spend our final days making precious memories, surrounded by our loved ones. The last thing anyone wants to be doing at the end of their life is worrying about money.
Sadly, many people struggle to make ends meet if they’re diagnosed with a terminal illness. Lots of people find that their symptoms worsen if they’re cold which means they need to keep the heating on most of the time. Many also have specialist equipment at home, such as breathing machines, which use lots of energy. This means energy bills for terminally ill people can be thousands of pounds higher than the average household. And the cost of living this winter is making everything harder.
Tammy Prescott, a 43-year-old mother of two, was diagnosed with incurable stomach cancer in April 2021. “It’s hard not knowing how long I’ve got left. And I’m worried about how my family will support themselves financially going forward.
“I remember the last time I was able to just let go and forget about it all. We’d gone to Blackpool as a family – me, my two girls, my mum and my niece. I sat on the beach and the girls were playing in the sea. The sun was shining. It was just nice.
“But since I stopped working we’ve had to cut back on things like that. We can’t have days out or birthday parties for the girls, or day-to-day treats like ice creams. We just stay home now.
“When the winter comes it’s going to be difficult. I feel the cold more since I’ve been having chemotherapy and energy prices are so high. But there’s always blankets and cardigans, we’ll just do what we can to get by.”
Marie Curie is campaigning for better government support for people living with a terminal illness. They’re asking the government to:
• Give all terminally ill people their State Pension, no matter their age
• Protect terminally ill people from soaring energy bills
• Support terminally ill parents with childcare
How you can help
The more people support the campaign, the more pressure there is on the government to change the benefits system so that people like Tammy can have the end of life they deserve. Will you join the thousands of people showing their support for Marie Curie’s petition?
To sign, please visit mariecurie.org.uk/poverty