THOUSANDS of cancer patients struggling to pay bills have had to take out loans or sell their belongings, a charity revealed yesterday.

One sufferer, 47-year-old Cathy Simms, said that her “battle with debt has been harder than the cancer itself” and she could be forced to sell her house.

Almost 400,000 people each year living with the disease battle daily to keep up with living costs and loan payments as a result of their diagnosis, according to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Their struggle comes amid Tory cuts to benefits for those in “dire financial situations.”

The “crippling” financial price of cancer — caused by being unable to work and having to pay hospital travel costs — leaves thousands borrowing an average of £1,270 and struggling to buy essentials and nutritious food to keep them going.

And 2 per cent of patients borrowed more than £10,000, the charity’s survey showed.

Patients’ woes are made worse when bosses punish them for having no choice but to take time off work to undergo hospital treatment.

Ms Simms, from south Wales, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2012.

She told the Star: “I lost my well-paid job due to discrimination, took my employer to court and partially won the case.

“But it’s had devastating effects as I lost two years’ income when I couldn’t pay my bills, resulting in huge unpaid debts.

“To settle these I may face bankruptcy or an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) and even selling the family home.

It’s been the most awful experience.”

More proposed cuts to welfare by the Tory government would leave cancer patients who cannot work, or have lost jobs, worse off by at least £120 a month, the charity also warned.

People with money troubles before being diagnosed with cancer are tipped over the edge into a “dire financial situation.”

Macmillan chief executive Lynda Thomas described the findings as “truly distressing” and called on the government to reconsider the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.

Benefit cuts “could leave thousands of people with cancer without a sufficient financial lifeline at a time when they are already struggling,” she said.

The Macmillan survey of 2,011 adults revealled that 44 per cent have struggled to keep up with finances and 36 per cent say it was entirely or partly due to their diagnosis.

And about 66,000 people have missed a council tax payment and 51,000 failed to pay a water bill in the last year due to their illness.

In order to keep up with bills, 34 per cent of patients use their savings, 9 per cent rely on a store cards or credit cards and 8 per cent have sold belongings such as a car.

Case study - Jules

A woman suffering from breast cancer tells of her mistreatment by her boss in an emotional Macmillan video.

She said she was demoted from management to reception, denied bonuses and then ended up in a “disciplinary meeting” with her employer and his wife — who did not work there.

Jules tearfully describes the moment she asked her boss’s wife for a copy of the notes and was refused. She said: “At that point I knew I had no choice but to leave my job.”