I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin Follicular Lymphoma Stage 3A (low Grade) last year. I had no symptoms apart from a lump on my neck. After two biopsies I was given a diagnosis. I chose Immunotherapy rather than watch and wait. I had 4 sessions of Rituximab over a 4 week period. last year in November. I had a PET scan in January which resulted in my being cancer free and in complete remission. Fantastic result and this treatment was well worth it. What was a very dark time for me and my family before my diagnosis is now a time of hope. I can honestly say that the treatment i have received from the Haemotology dept and my Consultant has been second to none.
I am now trying to get some Travel insurance for a well deserved holiday for myself and my husband to find that the insurance companies either won't insure me at all or are wanting large amounts of money . I am sure many of you will have had the same problem. Any advice yo can give me would be very much appreciated.
Bronwyn
Hi Bronwyn Bronners and welcome to this corner of the community.
I am Mike and I help out around our various Lymphoma groups. I don’t have Follicular Lymphoma (FL) but I was diagnosed way back in 1999 at 43 with a rare, incurable but treatable (other) type of Low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma eventually reaching Stage 4a in late 2013 so although my Lymphoma ‘type’ is different I do appreciate the challenges of this journey rather well.
The first thing to remember is that FL like most Low Grade Non Hodgkins Lymphomas are seen as incurable but treatable….. and most insurance companies will look at the length of time you are out from treatment.
A holiday sounds amazing but as you see getting affordable Travel Insurance can be a challenge and at times the price quoted could be higher than the cost of the holiday and some people do find that no Insurance is being offered.
I had to be 2 years in remission and not on any cancer related treatment for my type of Lymphoma before I could get any price but these decisions are often all down to lymphoma type, when was your last treatment……. these are the risk factors put on you by the insurers risk assessment - I am very open to serious infections due to a reduced immune system (2 Allo (donor) Stem Cell Transplants) so this for me is seen as a high risk factor for insurers.
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 is 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…… but you only answer the questions you are asked.
I am not allowed to recommend any companies but do have a look through the Recommended Travel Insurance 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 of posts in the group as well.
I do hope you can get cover.
Always around to chat as you navigate the post treatment world.
