Inverness mum with terminal cancer highlights the plight of families in similar situations during the cost-of-living crisis
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An Inverness mum with terminal cancer has revealed how the cost-of-living crisis is just one of many problems facing her family as they plan for the day that she loses her battle with the disease.
Mum-of-one Melanie Finlay (48) has stage four metastatic cancer that has spread throughout her body since being diagnosed earlier this year.
As well as trying to make some final memories with husband Tom (43) and seven-year-old son Joseph, she also has to face up to rising costs of living, planning her own funeral and teaching her family how to cope when she is gone.
Melanie, who lives in Castle Heather, is on a pre-paid meter for her energy bills and said she worries about the future for Tom and Joseph as she will not be able to financially support them.
She is currently in receipt of benefits as she can no longer work, having previously been a Police Scotland employee.
As a result, her close friend and colleague Rachel Sutherland has set up an online Go Fund Me fundraising page to help the family create some final memories to share.
It has generated more than £7600.
Melanie has just finished another round of chemotherapy and hopes to see in the new year as it is Joseph’s eighth birthday next month and it will be her one-year wedding anniversary in April.
Melanie said: “Back in April they said they weren’t sure I was going to make it to Christmas.
“I went into Highland Hospice and they got me back on my feet.
“But the cancer is too aggressive and is now in my liver. I found that out two weeks ago.
“When you’re a stage four cancer patient it is about slowing it down. You’re not going to get rid of it.
“I can still take treatment so they will just keep trying to slow it down to give me more time.”
Melanie added: “It would be nice to see my wedding anniversary. We got married in April but it was a bit of a rush job.”
Melanie is realistic about her prospects,with Joseph’s birthday on the horizon.
She said: “It is going to be my last one. Even if I am still alive I’m not going to be compos mentis enough.”
Melanie said, like many others, the rising cost of living continues to be a worry.
She said the family “is not destitute” but financial worries are a big concern.
The family have stocked up on blankets and hot water bottles as well as making changes to the house to try and winter-proof it as much as possible.
The fundraising money has been used to make memories with the family.
Meanwhile Tom, a computer analyst, has had to reduce his working hours as he is now Melanie’s full-time carer.
She said: “Tom has had to take on more of the financial strain.
“And as we don’t know how long I have left, he’s having to take on more of the bill paying that I did before.
“You’ve got to think about the cost-of-living crisis we’re going through.
“When I die, a chunk of our income will go down.
“If I die any time soon, then he loses whatever I’m bringing in.”
Melanie has had the unfortunate task of also having to plan her own funeral.
She said: “We’ve got a plan down.
“The problem we’ve got is when you have cancer you are very susceptible to infection.
“I just wanted to make sure when I got out of hospital recently that everything was covered.”
Melanie said she was desperate to highlight the impact that cancer has on family and friends.
She said: “Joseph is going to grow up without his mother.
“There are thousands of people in the same situation.
“Tom has had to change his entire routine.
“He said to me ‘I feel like I’m being trained to be a single parent’. And he’s watching me die.
“So it’s not just the cancer patient that is going through this – it’s the family.
“So when dealing with cancer think of those around them – they might need just as much support.”
Cancer charity Marie Curie is running a campaign highlighting the number of people who are dying during the cost-of-living crisis.
Ellie Wagstaff, senior policy manager for the charity said: “The cost-of-living crisis is worrying for all, but it’s placing an extra burden on the shoulders of terminally ill people.
“The ‘double burden’ of income loss and increased costs brought on by a terminal illness can leave people struggling to make ends meet, and force those who were already on the threshold below the poverty line.
“This is why, alongside other charities, Marie Curie is calling for the Scottish and UK governments to commit increasing benefits, at least in line with inflation.
“Terminally ill people, their families and carers don’t have time to wait. We need urgent action now.”
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