Hello :-)

Morning Cairo and welcome to our group

It’s certainly good to have something to look forward to in the form of a nice holiday, and I certainly enjoy getting away too.

I’m afraid I’ve never heard of any schemes between holiday companies and Macmillan for money off, but I have to say the thought never crossed my mind so it’s not something I’ve ever looked for. You could try phoning Macmillan to enquire-the number is in my signature. Macmillan can provide grants-have you had one of these before? You do have to complete paperwork to apply, but that might be an option for you.

You say you are nearing the end of treatments…would you like to share a little more with the group or add some information to your profile to let us know what brought you here? Have you been feeling well throughout your treatment so far? 

One thing you would need to consider when planning a holiday is making sure you have appropriate travel insurance. When I first went on holiday after my first line treatment, I was not able to get cover for my cancer-my company would only provide that once I had completed 6 months clear of cancer following a “no evidence of disease” scan. You need to declare the cancer and treatment either to your existing insurance company, or to any new company in setting up a policy. 

Hope you have success in getting something planned.

Sarah xx

Thank you so much for your reply Sarah :-) Tbh someone else said the same thing about the insurance - it wasn't even something I'd thought about (obviously insurance, but not about not being able to get it). Ah well, back to the drawing board, maybe a little caravan in Wales for a few days Hopefully it won;t rain  I suppose Cyprus isn't going anywhere.

Thank you anyway :-)

P.s. I haven't put anything on yet, literally signed up this morning. SInce I found out in April, cried, held in in trying to be brave, lasted 3 days & then told my little dad. He managed to help me flip the switch, from woe is me to, thank God it's not one of my kids, & the since then, armour on, kick-ass attitude, Bob (the tumour) & his uninvited friends are being blasted away. I'm very lucky, I have an army of supporters, what feels like an entire hospital working on me to save me, my family & friends have been absolute rocks, helping to keep things as normal as possible for my 3 kids & we are just, head down, & let's do this GGGRRRR

Maybe a little naive, maybe a little bit of burying my head in the sand, but, it gets me through :-)

Thanks again though for replying, really appreciate it Sarah :-)

Hi again Cairo

You sound like you have a great attitude and that really does help so much. Lucky too that you have such a good support network round you. That must really make a difference.

The thing with insurance is that you will likely be able to get it, but will have to pay more for it, especially if you are planning on going straight after treatment ends but before you have the results of your post treatment scan. I see in another post one of my fellow champs linked you in to the insurance group within the community and there’s a lot of very useful advice and recommendations there. What I would advise is calling companies direct and going through everything on the phone rather than using comparison sites and online forms which cater for straightforward quotes rather than ones involving cancer. Don’t write off a foreign trip just yet! My first trip abroad after treatment was a few months after I had my first post treatment scan results and it was such a boost to get abroad again. 

Lots of us in the group have been through the same treatment as you’re going through now, and there’s a really friendly group of ladies here to help you out if you need it. I know you’ve got a lot of support around you but the ladies here know exactly what the treatment is like so feel to post with us for a vent, support or if you need any advice we might be able to help with from our own experiences. Glad to have you with us!

Sarah xx

Thank you so much Sarah, I really appreciate it. Sorry its taken so long to reply, it's been a bit of tough week (let's just say the rats & cockroaches have sensed weakness & started coming out of the woodwork- luckily I'm a warrior queen, they dont know who or what they're taking on, cancer or no cancer ;-) ). Your advice is really positive & I will definitely do that, think I just got a bit excited,  but the reality is, I'm going to have to wait for my scan in 4wks & then the results before realistically I can even think about booking anything,  as until then I won't know for certain whether I'll be able to go on holiday or needing more treatment. But it's given me ideas & if nothing else, this cancer malarkey has finally (after 43yrs) I can't control everything & sometimes you just have to be patient. Trust that things happen for a reason & hopefully that reason will be a blessing rather than a lesson (I've had enough of those now :-D ). Thanks again though, honestly,  really appreciate your help. Cairo.x

Hi again Cairo

Have it in your mind that you will eventually get your holiday-we all need something to look forward to! I booked a holiday the same day I got my scan results after my chemorads. I had been due to go on a long haul holiday the day I was sitting in that awful little room at the hospital being told I had cancer in 2018, so obviously couldn’t go. We did the trip exactly a year to the day later-same place, same hotel, same everything. 

A week after I came back from that holiday I was told my cancer was probably back, which it was, but we had a fabulous time! We had to write off 2020 due to covid and my surgery, but last year managed 2 foreign trips, and this year are having 4. Travel is much more difficult for me now after my surgery and being a double bagger, but I refuse to let that stop me doing what I want to do, including long haul trips. 

I’m not sure what stage cancer you had to deal with, but obviously it wasn’t early stage which could have a hysterectomy if you needed chemorads. But there’s no reason at this point to think treatment might not have been successful. I always had the view of keeping positive until I was told different, and there is a life after treatment, even surgery like mine. You’re right, you just have to be patient. Fingers crossed it all works out for you.

Sarah xx