Newark Notts Newark Community Website
Welcome to the newsletter for August.
Thyroid & PARATHYROID CANCER.
What is Thyroid Cancer?
Thyroid Cancer starts in the thyroid gland, one of the endocrine glands in the body. It has been estimated that 15-20% of the UK population have an enlarged thyroid gland known as GOITRE
Although Thyroid Cancer is considered to be a rare cancer, the number of cases is increasing each year It seems to affect women rather than men.
There are some known causes of thyroid cancer, but in most cases the cause is not known. It is known that excessive exposure to radiation or radiotherapy treatment during childhood can cause it. It is also known that some forms of thyroid cancers are hereditary. Approximately 25-30% of medullary cancers are hereditary.
Symptoms.
Swelling or lump (nodule) in the neck, hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing and awareness of pressure when swallowing.
Difficulty in breathing, especially when sleeping. However, all lumps are not cancerous but if you do feel a lump you should see your doctor.
Information and Advocacy Service.
This is a new service giving advice, information and advocacy. You can phone any weekday. They can help you find the support and services you need and help you get an advocate if you need one They will give you information that you can understand and not a load of gobbledegook. The service is for people who live in Nottinghamshire.
For more information about the service, please call 0300 020 0093.
Email- [email protected] Web site, www.pohwer.net
Post, PO Box 14043, Birmingham. B6 9BL.
Expert Patients Programme. (EPP)
This is a programme to help you take control of your condition and make a difference to your life.
It is for anyone who is living with a long term health condition such as Arthritis, Asthma, Hearts disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Liver disease etc.
It teaches you how to manage your symptoms, deal with stress, depression and low self image. Manage pain, develop coping skills, relax, eat healthily, plan for the future and it costs nothing.
The course involves six weekly sessions, each lasting two and a half hours (including breaks). It is varied and there are brief talks, discussions and free thinking sessions. A seventh session held (usually 6 weeks after the course has been completed) to share experiences and outcomes.
For more information about an EPP Course in your area, please contact Dawn Anderson on 01623 673302.
Pension Credit.
Pension Credit is a tax free payment for those who have reached the qualifying age and live in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).
The State Pension age for both men and women will rise in the future. The government proposes to rise the age to 66 by 2020. If this happens, women’s State Pension age will increase more quickly, rising to 65 between April 2016 and November 2018.
Changes to the State Pension age are likely to affect the Pension Credit qualifying age.
There are two parts to Pension Credit- Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit.
Guarantee Credit may be paid to you if you have reached the qualifying age. It tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed minimum.
Savings Credit is for those people who have saved some money towards their retirement. You may be able to get it if you are 65 or over. You may be able to get Savings Credit as well as Guarantee Credit.
The earliest you can apply for Pension Credit is four months before you reach the qualifying age. You may apply anytime after that, but it is best to apply as soon as you can.
If you applied for Pension Credit before but didn’t get it, you may apply again because your circumstances may have changed or the Benefit rates may have increased.
When you apply, you must be living in Great Britain. Even if you have settled from abroad, that still counts as living here, but you must not be subject to Immigration Control.
If you go abroad, they may pay Pension Credit for up to 13 weeks while you are temporarily absent abroad. If you go abroad for medical treatment under the NHS, you may get Pension Credit for as long as you are getting medical treatment. However, you should inform them if you go abroad for any reason at all. You should also tell them if you go to Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel islands.
You can also get Pension Credits if you live in a care home and are entitled to them.
You may also get Pension Credit as a couple, providing you have the qualifications. This depends on your joint income and savings, if you are living together as man & wife, or as civil partners.
The amount of Guarantee Credit or Savings Credit will depend on what you have coming in and your income is less than;
£137.50 if you are single, or;
£209.70 if you have a partner.
These amounts could be higher if you or your partner (or both of you) have a severe disability.
If you are over 65 (both of you) and have saved some money towards your retirement, like a second pension or savings you may get Savings credit. You could get up to;
£20.52 a week if you are single or;
£27.09 a week as a couple.
You may still get Savings Credit if your incoming money is about;
£188.00 a week if you are single, or;
£277.00 a week as a couple.
You can apply for Pension Credit by ringing 0800 991234 or Text phone 0800 1690133 if you have a speech or hearing difficulties.
You can get more information by contacting the Pension Service on;
Phone 0845 60 60 265 0r Text phone 60 60 285.
You can get a free copy of the Pensioners Guide by calling 0845 7313233.
You can also get more information from age concern by calling;
0800 009986 or contact the local office.
Gardening.
For all the gardeners among you, here’s a little tip I got off a gardener some years ago. Instead of going out and buying all those bug killers on the market, why not save your washing up water with washing up liquid in, strain into your watering can and spray that over your plants. You may be surprised and it also saves you using your hose pipe. Try it.
The Quiz.
Here are the answers to last week’s questions.
In 1945, Sheila Sim married Richard Attenborough.
Former PM James Callaghan chose to be “Baron Callaghan of Cardiff when he retired.
Now for this month’s quiz.
America. In which state is the most famous Macy’s store.
(a) New Orleans. (b) Baltimore (c) New York (d) Chicargo. Answers next month.
The trouble with my wife is that she’s a terrible back seat driver….so I decided to buy a motorbike and sidecar. But that didn’t stop her going yackety-yak all the time. One day a policeman pulled me over and said,
“Hey your wife fell out of the sidecar six miles back” I said, “Thank God! I thought I was going deaf.
This woman went on holiday leaving her husband behind. Before she left she told him to take special care of her pet Siamese cat. As soon as she arrived she phoned home to ask after the cat. Her husband said “The cat just died!” She burst into tears and started to read the riot act to him: “How could you be so blunt? Why couldn’t you have broken the news gradually? Today you could have said it was playing on the roof. Tomorrow you could have added it fell off the roof and broke a leg. Then on the third day you could have said the poor thing passed away in the night. You could have been more sensitive about the whole thing. By the way, how’s my mother? He said “She’s playing on the roof.
See you next month.
