Given six months to live a year ago, Tammy Prescott knows she is on borrowed time and would love to spend the summer enjoying treats and days out with her beloved family.
But huge energy bills and spiralling inflation mean that there is no spare cash to make happy memories with her husband Lintyn, 55, and daughters, Sadie, 12, and Poppy, 10.
Tammy, 43, said: “This is the time you’re supposed to be making special memories, doing things, ticking off things on your bucket list.
“It’s scary for the girls and they know it’s coming.
“It would be wonderful to go on the go-karts with them, or to the seaside, and jump in a car and go somewhere, but you can’t because of the petrol cost.
“We can’t afford to do things, we just stay at home now. I have to keep the heating on because I get so cold and it goes into my bones.”
Tammy had to give up her job as a children’s nursery manager after she was diagnosed with stomach cancer in September last year and given just six months to live.
Lintyn, a chef, now has to work up to 60 hours a week to cover their bills and has no free time or spare money to help his wife tick off the things on her modest bucket list.
Tammy would love to transform their “shrubland” garden and dreams of having a patio area where she can sit and watch the children splash about in a paddling pool.
She would also love to go for days out at the seaside, maybe even have a holiday, and a Christmas experience for the family, who she says are “mad” about the festive season.
Tammy, who has been through 11 rounds of chemotherapy, said: “It kills Lintyn that he can’t spend more time with me. My husband works every hour God sends him, bless him. I have to try not to think about it or I’d spend every day crying.”
Labour is pledging to freeze the energy price cap at its current £1,971 until the end of March next year to stop average bills topping £5000.
Tammy said: “It’s madness, they keep adding and adding and adding. The energy prices are ridiculous.
“It’s just gone up to £200 a month for electric and gas and that’s just the summer months.” Tammy, from Halifax, West Yorkshire gets £1000 a month in benefits, including a Personal Independence Payment, but it doesn’t cover what she used to earn, around £1,300.
Her husband brings home a basic wage of £1,200 a month.
Tammy said: “All this goes on bills. There’s no wriggle room.”
Every spare penny is eaten up with the cost of trips to hospital, school uniforms, and extra expenses connected with Tammy’s illness.
She said: “These bills are robbing the girls of happy, relaxing times with their mum.
“It can be a nightmare trying to work out where you can take money from to pay
the bills.”
She is calling on the Government to allow people with a terminal illness to access their state pension, backed by charity Marie Curie.
Tammy said: “I’ve been working since I was 14, always paying into the system. I am never going to reach the age where I am going to be able to access it. It’s not about me, it’s about my family and how they will be able to support themselves.
“I know towards the end of my illness, my husband is going to have to massively reduce his hours or stop working and be a single parent.”
Marie Curie wants the Government to grant working-age people early access to their state pension if they have a terminal illness, and to give better support with energy costs and childcare. More than 87,000 people have signed their petition.
Mark Jackson, Marie Curie Policy Manager, said: “The current working age benefits system is failing terminally ill people like Tammy.
“More often than not, people who are still working when they are diagnosed with a terminal illness have to reduce or give up work entirely.
“Combine this with higher energy bills, home adaptations, care and travel to appointments, it is not surprising many people in this group are experiencing financial hardship.”
- Sign the petition at mariecurie.org.uk/poverty
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