Hi everyone, I was first diagnosed with Prostate and rectal cancer in 2020. Although anatomically my tumours were close together the treatment for these are somewhat different! After some discussion it was agreed that the most effective way forward was to begin with an intensive course of radiotherapy to target both tumours, these were daily sessions over 2 months, weekends and bank holidays not included. After a period of recovery, about 3 months, I had surgery to remove the tumour in my colon and this included an illeostomy. As the cancer had spread to Lymph nodes my surgery was followed up with a course of chemotherapy (Folfox) to ensure that any escapee cancer cells were mopped up. I managed 10 treatments of the originally recommended 12 sessions before I began to feel that I couy handle any more. Thankfully, as far as I am aware, the treatment has been a success, however the chemo had taken its toll and left me with neuropathy in my feet and legs and this hasade walking a painful experience. Later this year my youngest daughter is to be married in Cyprus and I am concerned about the cost of holiday insurance. So my question is can anyone offer any advice/ guidance
Hi Felly and well done getting through your treatment and attending your daughters wedding in Cyprus sounds great.
Getting affordable Travel Insurance can be a challenge and at times the price could be higher than the cost of the holiday. Comparison sites tend to use the same algorithms so getting a clear price can be difficult and it’s not that unusual to be turned down or told to call the insurers.
It’s actually more effective to call a few insurers directly as this means that you have answered all the questions correctly and in doing this a suitable policy can be offered and price given. Full disclosure is always advisable as in the event of you developing any issues this can reduce the risk of an insurance companies wriggling out from paying out.
I had to be 2 years in remission..... but it took a year to reach remission before I could get any price but this is often down to cancer type, treatment and the resulting risk factor put on you by the insurers risk assessment - I am very open to infections so this is a high risk factor for insurers.
Do have a look through the 'recommended travel insurance' thread and this New Thread in our Travel insurance group as it's where the majority of recommendations from other forum members are. You can also look through all the individual members posts in the group as well.
Clicking on the link I've created will take you straight there. You might also want to look at this thread as it includes a link to a Travel Insurance Directory.
If you have a current European Health Insurance Card, or you get a Global Health Insurance card (more information here) and you have opted to take an exclusion, you would still be able to get treatment in public hospitals when abroad. However, this treatment may still be chargeable at the time although it may be possible to reclaim some or all of the cost back once you are back in the UK.
My journey s over 23 years now and I am still incurable but we all do what we need to do to get through this so once we get to a point that we can be kind to ourselves, but more importantly to our families we need to go for it.
All the best.
