MACMILLAN Cancer Support is urging all MPs to uphold the Lords’ amendments to the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, as this will ensure that people with cancer and other long-term illnesses who are too ill to work do not see their benefits reduced by £30 a week.

Current figures show that at least 17,020 people in Merseyside alone could be left without vital financial support.

Macmillan knows the financial burden that many people with cancer face.

The charity found that four in five people with cancer are on average £570 a month worse off as a result of their diagnosis.

This is because of loss of income and extra medical costs, such as transport to hospital appointments, as well as spiralling household bills as cancer treatment causes people to feel the cold more when they’re likely to be spending more time at home.

As the bill moves to its final stages we hope MPs recognise the impact that any cuts to benefits will have on the physical and mental wellbeing of people in their constituencies with long-term illnesses and uphold the Lords’ amendments.

Readers can get involved in this campaign by e-mailing their MP at bit.ly/1SlmRS0.

Jane Melvin, head of services, Macmillan north west