 "Rick" gets no help with heating, because he's too young |
Most of us would hope that if we were diagnosed with a terminal illness, we'd get a pretty good level of support from the state. But one man who's seriously ill with cancer has discovered that despite his condition, he is too young to claim the winter fuel allowance.
On Tuesday's Breakfast, Julia George went to meet Rick Costello (not his real name) to find out why he's using the last few months of his life, to campaign for a change in the rules.
After our programme, Rick went to meet representatives of the three main parties, at the House of Commons.
Wednesday: update
We got an update from Julia George - and we heard from the minister Rick met from the Department for Work and Pensions, Anne Maguire
According to the minister, while there's no specific help with fuel bills, people who have been given a terminal diagnosis should be able to make a fast-track claim for another benefit, the Disability Living Allowance. It should be paid out within days if necessary.
To find out more about claiming the DLA and other help available, scroll down to the bottom of this page.
Tuesday: Rick takes his campaign to Westminster
Rick has chosen to remain anonymous, partly because he doesn't want to become the centre of a media circus, and partly because he doesn't want personal donations.
"I was diagnosed late last summer with pancreatic cancer," he told us. "It's totally inoperable. It's terminal and the prognosis is months, so now I'm living on borrowed time. "
Rick, who was self employed, has a grown up family who've helped him cope with the diagnosis, but he admits there are tears every day.
"For thousands of families out there, this is an all too familiar horror story," he says
"Chemotherapy makes you feel cold, so in winter I have to have the heating up full."
In the end, as money worries piled up, he was encouraged to apply for a heating grant from the Macmillan cancer charity - because no state help was available.
Rick wants the �200 winter fuel allowance - which is available to anyone over 60 - to be extended to people with serious illnesses.
He's meeting a representative from each of the three main political parties today - and tomorrow, we'll update you on how the meetings went.
If you want to find out more about help with bills for those with serious illnesses, there's a selection of websites to the right of this page. The minister Anne Maguire mentioned that people who've been given less than six months to live can get a fast-track benefit - the Disability Living Allowance, which can be paid within days.
If you think you're entitled to this and you're not getting it, talk to one of the cancer charities, or to your health care team (which will have to confirm the prognosis).
Relatives and carers can fill out the forms for this benefit, if the person concerned is too ill to do it for themselves.
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What an incredible guy..This man deserves a medal fighting the establishment in such poor health - shame on the Government that it is necessary for him to have to do it. 
