Young Laois mum loses house deposit after cancer diagnosis

A YOUNG mum from Portarlington who is getting treatment for breast cancer has lost most of her savings for a house deposit, because of the high cost of living with the disease.

Mother-of-three Aoife Murphy, who is renting privately, was saving for a house deposit before her diagnosis but these savings have all but disappeared.

She says the dream of owning her own home has been lost, because any spare cash is spent on driving to and from appointments, hospital parking costs and medical fees.

Aoife explains: “It's the hospital fees, the oncology fees, the surgeon fees. It’s the driving up and back to Dublin and the cost of parking in the Mater is astronomical. It's constantly chipping away at your safety net, at your plans and hopes for the future. I basically lost any hope of a house deposit to my cancer diagnosis.

She recalls: “Before I got sick, I was always trying to put money away. You’d put something aside for the rainy day, for your kids and I was trying to build a house deposit too. All of that was really thrown out the window once I was diagnosed with cancer.” 

Aoife is among hundreds of patients nationwide who took part in a survey titled ‘Real Cost of Cancer’, which was carried out for the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) and published this week. It found that people with cancer lose an average of €16,200 in annual income as a result of their diagnosis.

The survey found that up to €400 a month goes on medical expenses, while travel costs an average of €300 a month. A total of 506 people took part in the survey, including patients, partners and carers.

Publishing the results of the survey on 23 September, the ICS said: ‘Cancer patients reported struggling to heat their homes, falling behind on their mortgage or rent or needing to borrow, to cope with financial impact of a cancer diagnosis.’ 

The ICS points out that people affected by cancer face additional costs and financial burdens, as well as a significant loss of income according to the survey data.

The data draws from interviews and a survey conducted by Ireland Thinks, as well as concerns raised by cancer patients through the ICS welfare and support service and other research funded by the ICS.

In a report on the survey, the ICS said: ‘The findings tell a difficult story of how people can experience an average loss of €16,200 in annual income. People affected by cancer shared that, at a time when their income dropped, they experienced a significant increase in outgoings. Findings show that some patients with advanced cancer or nearing end-of-life are not able to afford to heat their homes.

‘Cancer patients and those affected by cancer said they paid up to €300 just to get to their appointments each month. This includes car parking fees, fuel costs and toll charges. Cancer patients faced costs of up to €400 per month on medical expenses, including GP visits and prescription costs.

‘Many cancer patients said they were forced to borrow from family or friends, or to spend their savings to make ends meet. The survey found that some people reported falling behind on their mortgage or rent due to the financial hardship. One in three say they faced significant increases in heating bills.’ 

As Budget 2027 approaches, the ICS says it is calling on the government to introduce a number of practical measures that would make ‘a real difference’ to the lives of cancer patients.

The measures include abolition of hospital parking charges; automatic entitlement to a medical card for the duration of the illness and a reduction to €40 in the drug repayment scheme threshold. Anyone with advanced cancer, or who is nearing end of life, should also automatically get the Fuel Allowance and the Household Benefits Package.

All measures are costed and explained in detail in the ICS pre-budget submission.

Anyone with questions or concerns can contact the ICS Support Line on Freephone 1800 200 700 or supportline@irishcancer.ie.

Anyone with questions or concerns can contact the ICS Support Line on Freephone 1800 200 700 or supportline@irishcancer.ie .