Our Community of cancer survivors told us…
66%
reported
significant
income drops
75%
struggled
to return to
work
93 %
continue to experience long-term physical and mental health challenges
67%
still experience impact over a decade later
The ‘Cliff Edge’
The end of treatment is often just the beginning of a different kind of challenge.
Many survivors face ongoing fatigue, pain, anxiety and financial insecurity.
They are expected to bounce back once treatment ends but the reality is much more complicated.
Hear from our founder
Laura Fulcher, health activist, Mission Remission founder and cancer survivor, shares why Mission Protect was created and what survivors across the UK are telling us about the long-term impact of cancer on work, finances and everyday life.
Survivorship is changing.
- More people are living beyond cancer – for many years or decades.
- But financial protection, workplace support and public understanding haven’t kept up.
- Too many survivors face long term financial and employment challenges on the own.
Systems haven’t evolved.
- Gaps in financial security
- Inconsistent return-to-work support.
- Limited awareness of long-term
health effects. - Policy and workplaces not
designed for survivorship.
Through Mission Protect we are calling for…
Research
& Evidence
Defining adequate income protection through survivor-led research, including quantifying long-term income loss following illness. Putting lived experience at the centre of this work.
Policy
& Advocacy
Examining what can be learned from the income protection market, including issues of transparency, exclusions, benefit caps and consumer experience, to ensure a credible offer.
Employer
Engagement
Identifying viable routes for reform, including how income protection can embed within employment structures, self-employment frameworks and wider UK economic and welfare systems.
Public
Awareness
Improving public understanding and momentum to build awareness of the financial realities of critical illness and why a stronger system of protection is needed.
What our community told us
Over 1200 people have shared their experience of the loss of livelihood after cancer. Here are a snippet of the stories we heard…
