The Government has turned its back on vulnerable cancer patients and the terminally ill.

The new Warm Home Discount scheme is supposed to help those most in need, but ignores the two thirds of cancer patients struggling to pay their bills.

People with cancer often have high energy bills due to spending long periods of time at home during treatment or recovery, and may feel the cold more because of their condition.

Often these higher bills coincide with an average 50 per cent drop in household income because many cancer patients are unable to work.

The Warm Home Discount comes into force in April and obliges energy companies to provide financial assistance to vulnerable people struggling to pay their energy bills.

Despite strong public support for Macmillan’s campaigns, the Government has rejected calls to automatically give people who are terminally ill the rebate and to prioritise cancer patients most at risk of fuel poverty in the scheme.

Macmillan estimates the cost of automatically including people with a terminal illness in the scheme to be less than four per cent of the fund. Sadly, cancer patients who are vulnerable to fuel poverty look set to carry on missing out on much needed financial help.

Put pressure on the Government to end the misery of thousands of cancer patients who turn off their heating because they’re worried about energy bills.

You can show your support right now by joining the thousands who have already signed Macmillan’s woolly scarf petition at www.infi-knit.org.uk Julia Fenton Hodes
Stanmore (full address supplied)