Is NED = cancer 'completely destroyed'? Is Niraparib 'ongoing treatment'?

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Hi all,

Background first. I was diagnosed with stage 3c high grade serous ovarian cancer last autumn. I had the debulking surgery and then a course of chemo that ended this April. I was then put onto Niraparib PARP inhibitor tablets and will take these until they tell me to stop. Both scans this year have been NED and my CA-125 is around 10 at the moment. So far, so good.

I've been looking for travel insurance and got a bit unstuck when the question came up about if I've finished treatment. Obviously I tell them about the maintenance tablets, but the treatment question is a separate one. Do my pills count as treatment in this context?

Some insurance companies ask if the cancer has been 'destroyed'. With my sort of ovarian cancer, recurrence is very likely at some point, but at this very moment I'm NED. So what do I say? 

Many thanks in advance!

  • All I can suggest to be sure of getting the right cover with no chance of confusion is to 'phone the insurer and discuss your exact situation. It might take longer but at least you can be sure it's done correctly.

    Most insurers use exactly the same set of health questions (other than, I believe, InsuranceWith who have their own different adapted question sets) and it's often best and more flexible to talk through with an advisor when your circumstances don't appear to fit exactly with what is being asked.

    Good luck.

    Derek.

    Made in 1956. Tested to destruction.