Brain tumours, money and relationships

Even in the most open relationship, discussing money can be uncomfortable and can quickly become a source of conflict. This can become even more of an issue after a brain tumour diagnosis.

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Brain tumours and money difficulties

Changes in loved ones

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Brain tumours and money difficulties

If you’re living with a brain tumour, it is likely that you may need to reduce your work hours, or stop work completely. Partners may also need to spend less time working due to extra caring responsibilities.

Whether those are short-term measures during treatment, or a permanent result of your diagnosis, couples can often find it harder to make ends meet.

There may also be extra costs that you hadn’t budgeted for, like accessibility equipment, adaptations to your home, or travelling to hospital appointments.

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Between April 2020 to March 2021, we were able to support 285 people through the service, helping them claim over £950,000 collectively.

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As a result, it’s easy to get into money trouble or debt, especially whilst already dealing with other practical and emotional challenges, following a brain tumour diagnosis. This may put stress on your relationship.

You don’t need to go through this alone though. If money problems are affecting your relationship, we are here to help.

I can’t recommend the Relationship Support Service highly enough to help navigate the tricky ways in which a brain tumour diagnosis can impact on a relationship.

Read Ed's story

Ed from Kent was diagnosed with a Grade 4 glioblastoma in June 2018 after he collapsed at work. He and his wife have recently been using the relationship service the Charity offers in partnership with Relate to help support him as a husband and father. “My wife and I had been together for 10 years when I was diagnosed. Until then, our relationship had been so carefree. From day one, we knew that we had a long-term future together and we had a good grasp of what we both wanted that to look like too. However, my diagnosis threw all that into question overnight. We did still get married just nine months later and we soon welcomed our first child after going through IVF. “The diagnosis really changed how I viewed myself and how I felt that other people saw me too. All of a sudden, I needed help and support to complete what should be really simple tasks. I thought that I had become a burden – someone who needed caring for – and it really knocked my confidence. This resulted in a total lack of interest in the physical side of a relationship. “The relationship service with Relate was so empathetic. I quickly built a rapport with a professional ear which gave me the confidence to discuss in detail the emotional and practical barriers which were creating the issues in my relationship. We talked openly and real effort was made to understand my situation, offer practical solutions and also understand that sometimes maybe I didn’t want to talk. “If someone is looking for practical or emotional relationship advice, I can’t recommend it highly enough to help navigate the tricky ways in which a brain tumour diagnosis can impact on a relationship.”

Find out more

Relate offers a wide range of content to help people who are experiencing relationship difficulties. We’ve teamed up with them to provide our Relationship Support Service for couples and individuals whose relationship has been affected by a brain tumour.

Find out more

Changes in loved ones

Useful resources