A Portuguese woman residing in London, United Kingdom, for the past eight years lost the benefits she received from the British government after traveling to Portugal to inform her family that she had been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.
The woman, Ana Paula Cabral, experienced health complications during her trip and had to remain in Portugal for over a month.
Ana Paula Cabral, aged 65, began receiving support from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in July, which is available for those “with low income, unemployed, or unable to work,” following her cancer diagnosis, which prevented her from working at a home goods store due to “intensive chemotherapy.”
However, in September, the “payments were abruptly stopped” with the reason that she had been outside the UK for more than a month.
The Portuguese woman, who moved to the UK to be closer to her daughter following her husband’s death, sought permission from doctors at Guy’s Hospital in London to travel to Portugal to inform her family, including children, about her illness.
“I asked my oncology team for permission to come to Portugal to tell my family because this is the kind of news you don’t give over the phone,” she said. “The plan was to come, tell them, return, and continue with my treatment.”
During her stay in Portugal, Ana Paula Cabral’s condition worsened due to a blood infection, and she underwent two surgeries. She was then advised that she could not fly back to the UK, and doctors from both countries decided that she would have to continue her treatment for three months in Portugal.
A month later, the support was suspended, and although Ana Paula Cabral appealed the decision with medical attestations from the UK and Portugal, the Department for Work and Pensions claimed that she did not travel to Portugal specifically for treatment and therefore was not eligible for an exemption.
“I received a letter [from the DWP] last week stating that the main reason was because I was on holiday in Portugal. That I was here and didn’t return. And because the reason I came to Portugal was not for treatment,” she explained. “Of course not. I should have come and returned. The problem was that I had a horrible infection and had to go to the hospital, otherwise I would die. And with permission from Guy’s Hospital, I stayed not to delay my chemotherapy and worsen my illness.”
Now, Ana Paula Cabral fears losing her home in London as she is unable to pay rent and bills. “I have to pay the rent and all my bills, but I won’t be able to. I am really out of money,” she said. “I’m about to lose my apartment. I have a decent life in a small apartment with my little things, it’s my comfort. And I’m about to lose all of that because if I don’t pay the rent, I’ll be evicted.”
The Portuguese woman also expressed her “great disappointment” with the situation because “she was very happy in the UK.”
“I never asked for help, only now because I have cancer and need it. I never took a sick day off in the eight years I worked there,” she concluded.
