Widow left with huge debt after trying to keep partner warm during cancer care

A widow who has been left with thousands of pounds of energy debt after her husband’s sudden cancer diagnosis has called for more financial support for terminally ill patients.

- HOLLY BANCROFT

Simona Pappalardo, 46, from London, said the couple’s lives were “turned upside down in the space of a few hours” when doctors discovered a mass in her husband David’s brain.

He was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer in December 2023, and became partially paralysed. The 47-year-old went through treatment throughout the winter and spring of 2024 and passed away in June.

Simona explained: “It was six months throughout winter, and we were facing the coldest months, and he had to stay alive and stay warm throughout the winter.

“He underwent treatment, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and as a result was suffering from cold sensitivity. He was constantly cold, especially after treatment. And I do remember him shivering a lot, asking for gloves, a hat and extra socks.

“I was worried from day one and obviously I had to keep the central heating on, and I realised the costs were going up.”

Both Simona and David had to give up their jobs working in photography and signed up for universal credit and personal independence payments respectively. Simona explained that the benefits were not enough to pay for the extra energy costs incurred by making sure David was comfortable in his final months.

She said the heating became “vital” for David when he was ill and she had to keep the house warm to reduce the pain he was in.