My wife has this week had a high risk major op for a rare peripheral nerve sheath tumour started in the chest.
I was ecstatic when surgeons confirmed that they were confident that they had resected 100 per cent of the tumour plus margins. She is now out of ICU and starting recovery. No doubt pain medication will ensue and after histology of the tumour we expect that we will know if there is to be will any adjunctive blast of chemo/radio or not.
Why I am seeking some guidance now is the very first thing my wife said to me in ICU whilst sedated was “Well you had better start thinking of a cruise now” (not having had a holiday since pre-covid)
Sensibly the planning for a holiday won’t take place for quite a few weeks after surgeon sign off but I am wondering what would give her the best possible chance of us obtaining any type of insurance at all. . We will only cruise out of UK.
The carrot of a holiday will I believe help in her recovery process.
Unlikely to get if on pain meds?
Look for UK /Europe only?
Single trip only?
Is it worth pursuing mainstream or specialist only insurers?
Are we even likely to get insurance?
is a summer holiday a realistic expectation?
what factors would be in our favour?
any way we can stack the odds in favour or get a realistic perspective E.g Don’t set expectations for a holiday too high for this year?
Any general insight or recommendations would help us rather than chasing numerous companies, giving details receiving declines and getting frustrated.
Many thanks
Hi Blowers and a warm welcome to the online community
A cruise sounds lovely but unfortunately it can be more difficult to find travel insurance when a cancer diagnosis is involved.
I can only answer your questions based on my personal experience and from what I've read in the threads here. I think generally speaking travel insurance for a cruise will be more expensive than for a land based holiday as they have to factor in things like, what if your wife needs evacuating from the ship for medical treatment, Likewise insurance to America or the Caribbean is likely to be more expensive than insurance to Europe because of the high costs of medical treatment in America.
I've only taken out single trip insurance since my cancer diagnosis but I have seen some people report that they've had a good price for annual insurance whereas others have said they've been declined annual insurance but had no problem getting single trip.
I don't know how being on pain meds affects insurance and it's impossible to know whether you're likely to be refused insurance or not. The only thing you can do in advance of booking any holiday is to try some of the insurance companies to see if you can get insurance and how much it's likely to be.
I don't know if you've had chance to look through the recommended travel insurance thread yet, as it's where the majority of recommendations from other forum members are. If not, 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.
Most people here say that it's best to phone the insurance companies rather than try and do online quotes as often at the end of the online quote it will tell you to phone the company and you'll then have to go through all the information again. Also sometimes the broker can refer to the underwriters to see if they would provide cover when an online quote might just give you a straight refusal.
Make sure that you have all the information to hand about your diagnosis and treatment before contacting the insurers. This is a list of things an insurance provider might want to know when you're applying for insurance. Some providers might ask for a letter from your doctor saying that you are well enough to travel. This could come from your cancer team or GP.
I don't think there is anything you can do to "stack the odds in your favour" but I have found that the longer time there is between treatment finishing and applying for insurance the cheaper it's become.
I do hope that you can find some reasonably priced travel insurance so that you can book your holiday.
Do come back and let us know how you get on
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"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi Blowers
I'm glad to hear my information has proved helpful.
I really couldn't say if you should book a European cruise without cover for your wife's cancer or not and I'm not sure what you mean when you say "that the risks would be negated by a scan".
I have always declared my cancer diagnosis when taking out insurance and have never gone with insurance that doesn't cover it. I'm probably ultra careful but I think I'd worry throughout the holiday that if I needed to claim the insurers would find some way of saying that it was linked to my cancer and refuse to pay out.
In your wife's position I'd want to talk to my cancer team before booking any type of holiday. There's nothing wrong with making plans though so you know what you want to book if you're given the okay.
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"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
