Caring for others and understanding benefits
Registered nurse Helga Foyster, 53, from Norwich was put in touch with Macmillan when her daughter Lucy, 8, was diagnosed with bone cancer and she had to stop work to care for her. Helga has just marked five years since her own treatment for breast cancer.
I’ve worked as a nurse for 35 years but had to stop work to care for my daughter when she fell ill, which has been the biggest challenge of my life.
Fortunately, my employer granted me carers and sick leave while Lucy was having treatment, but the pay wasn’t enough to cover the costs of travel and caring for a child who now had difficulty moving about and caring for herself in the way she had.
I knew about Macmillan’s services, having sought their help when I went through treatment for breast cancer, so felt confident turning to them for advice again.
I sat by my daughter’s bedside in the hospital talking to my Macmillan adviser Cathy over the phone and via email about applying for benefits. It was a very challenging and lengthy process.
I honestly don’t think I would have been able to complete my application on time without Macmillan’s support
Our financial stability depended on being able to access additional support quickly and I knew that without expert advice, and with my mind on other things, I would struggle to understand and navigate the welfare benefits system.
It was so much easier to share information with one person who knew the system back to front and could work out what I was eligible for. It was a weight off my mind in what was an extremely difficult year.