World Cancer Day: How financial advice could help you cope with serious illness 

World Cancer Day, which falls on 4 February in 2026, is an annual international day to raise awareness of cancer and encourage its prevention, detection and treatment.

You might not like to imagine yourself or a loved one becoming seriously ill, but unfortunately, no one knows what’s around the corner. According to Cancer Research UK, nearly one in two people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.

If you become seriously ill, your primary concern is likely to be your wellbeing and that of your family. However, a diagnosis such as cancer can also bring financial uncertainty, especially if you’re unable to work for an extended period during treatment or recovery.

At a time when you need to focus on your health, the last thing you need is financial stress.

As such, understanding what support is available could help you and your family cope if your lives are affected by cancer or another serious health condition.

Keep reading to learn more about how serious illness could affect your finances and discover the benefits of seeking financial advice at this difficult time.

A serious illness, such as cancer, could create financial pressure

While undergoing treatment for cancer, you may have to reduce your hours, take an extended period off work or stop working altogether.

However, you’ll still need to cover your regular expenses, such as mortgage repayments and utility bills.

What’s more, you could face additional costs during this time, such as:

• Additional childcare
• Adaptations to your home
• Transport to and from the hospital
• Healthcare costs
• Higher household bills (if you spend more time at home during recovery)

If your income falls and your costs rise, you might need to pour all your financial resources into meeting your immediate needs. This could mean:

• Spending your savings
• Pausing pension contributions
• Drawing on your pension or other investments earlier than planned

As such, a cancer diagnosis can create significant financial pressures and stress in both the short and long term.

Financial advice could reduce uncertainty and allow you to focus on your recovery

When you’re unwell and emotional, you might find it hard to view your finances calmly and objectively. This could lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and despair, which may contribute to rushed or poor decision-making.

Your financial planner can offer a fresh perspective and help you feel more in control of your wealth by providing clarity, structure and reassurance when you need it most. This could allow you to focus on what matters most – your recovery – rather than worrying about money.

Here are a few important ways financial advice could help you and your loved ones cope with serious illness.

Understand your financial situation

Even the most financially secure person might feel wrong-footed by a serious medical diagnosis. All your carefully made plans could be thrown into question by concerns such as:

• How long will I be able to keep working?
• Will my income and living expenses change?
• Can I afford to reduce my hours or take time off work?
• Will I cope financially if my recovery takes longer than expected?

Your financial planner can remove some of this uncertainty by using sophisticated cashflow modelling software to give you a clear picture of your current position.

They can also use this powerful technology to map out how potential scenarios might affect your finances in the short- and long-term. This could help you understand what’s realistic financially and what changes you might need to make to adapt to your current situation.

Review your financial protection

Financial protection is often something people set and forget. You might have taken out cover, such as critical illness, some time ago and never reviewed it. Or perhaps you’re part of an employee benefits scheme you haven’t fully explored.

If you become seriously ill, knowing what financial protection you’re entitled to and how to claim it could provide valuable support to you and your family.

Your financial planner can help you identify and access:

• State benefits you may be eligible for
• Employee benefits such as sick pay and death-in-service cover
• Policies such as income protection, critical illness, and life insurance
• Pensions (including deciding whether ‘limited access due to ill health’ may be appropriate)

Adjust your budget

As discussed above, serious illness could affect both your income and outgoings, which might feel stressful.

Your financial planner can support you to adjust your budget in line with these changes by:

• Prioritising essential spending
• Using savings in a considered, strategic way
• Identifying opportunities to reduce or cut costs
• Reviewing debts and other financial commitments

These practical steps could ensure your day-to-day finances remain manageable, giving you a sense of control and reducing financial pressure in an already stressful situation.

Estate planning

If you’re diagnosed with a serious medical condition, such as cancer, it’s crucial to create or update your estate plan while you’re well enough to make your wishes clear. This could give you control over your healthcare and finances, as well as providing long-term financial security for your family.

Professional financial advice could help you to:

• Create or update your will – A financial planner can provide valuable advice and guidance to help you or a solicitor write a will that reflects your wishes
• Put Lasting Powers of Attorney in place – These legal documents allow you to appoint one or more trusted people to make decisions about your finances and medical care if you’re unable to do so yourself
• Determine how your pensions are passed on – You might have pensions that were set up many years ago. A financial planner can help you review and amend your ‘beneficiary nominations’ (the people who will inherit your pension savings) to reflect your current wishes and align with your broader estate plan

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate estate planning, cashflow planning, tax planning, trusts, Lasting Powers of Attorney, or will writing.

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.

Note that life insurance and financial protection plans typically have no cash in value at any time and cover will cease at the end of the term. If premiums stop, then cover will lapse.

Cover is subject to terms and conditions and may have exclusions. Definitions of illnesses vary from product provider and will be explained within the policy documentation.