“There have been times in the past when I had to park way outside the hospital grounds. This really isn’t ideal as after my treatment, I often don’t feel well, so having a big walk ahead of me can be daunting.”
58-year-old Joe Collins from Loughrea, Co Galway began experiencing extremely bad back pain in 2017 “I had issues with my back before, but this time the pain was excruciating. I ended up in hospital and following many tests and scans, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. This is a cancer that affects the plasma cells.”
“After my diagnosis, my health deteriorated very rapidly. I was on various treatments on a full time basis for the next number of years. Between reactions to the drugs, to kidney issues and repeated infections, and then eventually a stem cell transport, I spent a great deal of time in the hospital.”
“Due to my diagnosis, I was never able to go back to work, even though I really wanted to. I had to retire early in 2019.”
Joe is sharing his experience today to highlight the reality of the financial cost of cancer and the difficulties that exist for cancer patients when it comes to hospital car parking.
“At the University Hospital Galway, if I am scheduled for an appointment on a weekday morning at 9:30am, I know I will have to be there for 6am. Otherwise I won’t get any parking in the hospital, it’s an absolute nightmare.”
“When this happens, I end up just sitting in my car with a flask of coffee, in order to get parking in the hospital grounds. There are always queues of cars down the road looking for somewhere to park.
“There have been times in the past when I had to park way outside the hospital grounds. This really isn’t ideal as after my treatment, I often don’t feel well, so having a big walk ahead of me can be daunting.”
“There is no alternative to this as I live in a really rural area with no public transport options.”
“On top of all of this, I have to pay for everything out of pocket, these crippling costs have really affected me.
I have applied but been refused for a GP visit card and a medical card, I have to fund many of my own drugs as my health insurance doesn’t cover a lot of it. All these costs really add up, this is the last thing you need in an already stressful situation.”
We're campaigning to abolish car parking charges for cancer patients as well as urging the government to fully fund and resource cancer services and treatment nationwide. If you've been affected by the cost of cancer or experienced delays in accessing treatment, please send us a DM or visit: https://www.cancer.ie/yourstory
