pt 1 testicular cancer

I don't think my claim will be successful based on their terms and conditions, it states something about malignant cells and invasion of tissue. my diagnosis was pt1, and there was no trace of cancer in the tissue sample.

I never actually wanted to submit a claim, I only phoned to see if testicular cancer was covered, then the next thing I know, they're processing a claim, now I finally get the terms and conditions through it's not looking promising. Makes me wonder why I pay it in the first place.

If your companies try to refuse payment, I'd suggest getting in touch with Macmillan or CAB - it's possible that your illness doesn't fit in with the terms of the policy, but some of these companies also have a bad rep for trying to wriggle out of claims.  Given that these policies can be linked to pretty big payouts, I think it's worth a phone call/meeting with an advisor to double-check if you have a case!

I'm a bit confused by your diagnosis - if you have testicular cancer - even pt1 - by definition you have malignant cells.  Cancer is a malignant neoplasm which is always classed as invasive.

If you do have TC your insurance company will pay out. I had a classic seminoma pt1 which was dealt with by surgery and I got a payout of the full amount of my critical illness policy. 

If there was no trace of cancer in the tissue sample then I would not have thought you would be diagnosed as having TC, but anyway what I did was I brought my policy to my appointments with various consultants and asked their opinion on the terms and conditions. All were definitive in confirming my diagnosis met the conditions.  This is effectively what the insurance company will do - write to your consultants and ask them to confirm your diagnosis.

Good luck, hope it works out for you, but look at it this way if you are not covered it looks like it will be because you do not actually have cancer.  Even though I'm now "clear" and in surveillance I have a permanent paranoia about it coming back which no amount of insurance money will erase.  

I had actually taken the policy out 12 years ago when I bought my house and it was set up to pay off the mortgage, but since then we had moved and increased our mortgage commitment significantly so although it has paid off the majority of our mortgage it's not enough for me to think about retiring early! :)  I highly recommend if anyone has critical illness insurance to make sure their cover is up to date and will do what you need it to do.  It's too late to adjust it once you get ill.

Hi Ken.

The urology specialist nurse rang me with my biopsy result and told me that the tumour was cancerous and it was a stage pt1, but she mentioned that there was nothing anywhere else, she also mentioned carcinoma, but not carcinoma in situ.it's all very very confusing, because all I wanted to know was wether it was cancer or not, and how bad it was.

If the biopsy was PT1 and she said it was cancerous, then it's malignant.

Here's what Wikipedia says about Cancer: "In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors"

I was diagnosed with PT1 and I also had no invasion. You got it early bud, like me. If you'd have left it longer you would have had invasion be it vascular, or lymphatic.

They should pay out. I can't see why not.

If you have a cancerous tumour you should be covered although I have read on a few forums that some newer critical illness policies explicitly exclude certain cancers because they are so easily treatable.  Either way you need to get a consultant to check your policy.  

The next stage for you would normally be to see your oncologist who, having seen the histology report, can now advise whether any further treatment is required.  Simply bring your policy with you and get them to read the section on cancer - they will give you an immediate yay or nay as to whether the policy will pay out.

Let us know how you get on.

An insurance payout can't fully compensate from the fear that comes with having cancer, but it can take a load off if it sorts out any financial concerns.  

No, they are not very good at telling you in plain English are they?

You have a stage 1 carcinoma or cancer.

Stage I means its highly localised and its unlikely to have spread. Your chances went up from 80-90% to 95% or better. Maybe 97%.

They SHOULD have said whether its a seminoma, teratoma or mixed. the survival rate for either type at stage I is similar, but slightly different chemotherapy may be indicated if its one or the other.

You will be given the choice between surveillance and adjuvant (preventative) chemotherapy.

Relax. You aren't going to die just yet. :-)

What you have however is a long tedious process of getting to know more about cancer and clinical procedures and the inside of hospitals  than you ever wanted to.

Rest and get healthy now while you can, as the better you enter chemo if you need it the less it affects you and the sooner its gone.