Hello. I am the Information Officer at Roy Castle and have been working on a new booklet on travelling, going on holiday and getting travel insurance for people with lung cancer. I am very interested in hearing people's experiences so i can make sure i am covering the important points in the booklet, and perhaps to get some good quotes to use in the text.
We may also be running a feature article about the same topics in the next edition of "Inspire " magazine and could use stories and quotes there too. And if anyone would be open to being interviewed/photographed to appear in the article, please let me know. It would be great to be able to show how people manage to get away on holiday, and the benefits they experience.
Please reply here, or directly to me at graeme.henderson@roycastle.org.
Hi, I was given number for Euro Tunnel I went to benidorm and te of travelling I had a pick line in situ and was receiving treatment at Christies it was a trial drug and it cost me £17 for a wrk, all they wanted to know was that the dr was happy for me to fly and that it was documented in my nursing notes, I had a fab time and will be going back again in May, so I will be using Euro Tunnel against good luck, hope information is of some use...
Hi, I used MIA travel insurance tel 0800 999 3333. I think that they specialise in providing health Insurance for people with pre existing medical conditions. I found them very reasonable. £150 for a week in Vienna. I needed my GP to write in my medical notes that I was fit enough to travel and go on holiday. Hope this is useful.
Hello. Thanks for posting. If you can get to our website, roycastle.org, under, "How we help" - "Living with lung cancer" - "Managing your symptoms and lifestyle", there is a "Travelling and lung cancer" factsheet download. It lists some suggestions for travel insurance companies. We are currently updating this factsheet and producing a booklet. Some people speak to a travel insurance broker, and the British Insurance Brokers’ Association is
0370 950 1790, biba.org.uk. Hope this helps and that you manage to get something organised.
We couldn't get any travel insurance for my husband to fly to Brazil to see his family in Sept 2014. My husband died in January 2015...and didn't get to see his Mum and brothers, sisters, and close family again. It was very a very frustrating and worrying time. I spent a long time agonizing over whether I could handle the risk and cost of the plane being diverted if there was a breathing crisis on board. Perhaps you could list the risks of travelling without insurance. Would someone with cancer be liable for costs of plane being diverted? Also, maybe you could outline the specific risks that lung cancer sufferers face on a flight, and what they can do to manage them. I got close to ordering on flight oxygen and renting a portable oxygen machine for transfers and arrival. Haven't thought about this for a year now, but still feel very angry at the lack of compassion in the travel insurance industry. Certainly it seems you have to be very careful what you disclose to them and say no more than whst is in their questionnaire...but then if you need to claim, will they actually pay up if you haven't said everything and they haven't read doctor's assessment? One company did seem more professional...but on the whole it was a heartless experience. Are Roy Castle and Macmillans lobbying for a better deal for people living with cancer? Happy to discuss further.
Hello. Thanks for replying to my post. I am sorry you have had trouble with travel insurance, and at such a difficult time for you. It is always difficult to get something for longer trips and we have heard of others who have been unable to get any cover at all. Some people do choose to travel without insurance as you say, and some have posted in this forum. It is a good point about the possible penalties of doing so, and I will look into it. Already mentioned in the draft booklet is an estimated £45,000 repatriation from the east coast of the US. As I am researching the booklet, i am also talking to travel insurance professionals and people in the pharmaceutical industry where I know people are striving to get the best possible deal for people with lung cancer who want to travel. It seems too that an insurer is unlikely to pay out for an undisclosed, pre-exisiting condition that requires medical treatment while away. Also, some people may get a result by contacting British Insurance Brokers’ Association, 0370 950 1790, biba.org.uk, and asking to be put in touch with a travel insurance company that specialises in providing cover for people with cancer.
I too have used euro tunnel many times. They ask if you are terminal, I am incurable, and have never claimed and do wonder if that's where the problem would come.......them saying well you are terminal and me saying no incurable.
For Europe we have the health cards but they will not repatriate, which is where it costs money. There is a firm called swiss assist which will repatriate, here is the link swissassist.ch/doc/regolame... .Hope this helps someone.
Hello Julie. Thank you for posting and your feedback about Eurotunnel insurance, and for the info about Swiss Assist. I will look into that company. And yes, there is a difference between "terminal" and "incurable" and others have posted here about being able to get cover using one word and not with the other. I have mentioned the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) in the draft booklet.
I could not get cover with my bank insurance for at least a year after having operation, which would have brought me to this end of this month. I was told about company called insurancewith (0845 2 307 159) by my travel agent as we wanted to book a holiday to Cape Verde this January just gone. They were very good and insured me for Breast Cancer which I had five years ago, Oedema of the ankles and the lung cancer which was taken away last March, they needed to know what type it had been and in this case no documents were required from my doctor. This was Worldwide Exc USA, Caribbean and Canada. I did most of the form filling on line but was able to speak to them on the phone as well, they were very helpful. The cost for myself and husband was £164.69 for a week. The holiday was what we both so needed as had to cancel one the previous year and did us the world of good. Hope this helps.
Hello. Thanks very much for your reply. Insurancewith has had a few mentions,and good you felt you got a good service from them. Others have mentioned success going through the policy linked to their bank, but they all do vary. Glad to hear the holiday was what you both needed. A very positive comment about feeling the benefits of getting away for a holiday!
Used Insurancewith for our insurance and found them very helpful. They have covered me for lung cancer and it cost us about £300 for two weeks for me and my husband. We spoke to people on the phone so you get a personalised quote. I am just trying to get in touch with my surgeon to see if I can go scuba diving as I raised a few (most of the questions) red flags on the diving quetionnaire!! Hoping to hear back whilst out here and the doctor out here is happy to clear me for a dive if the surgeon agrees!!
Happy to send you some pics of the holiday when we are back and give you any further information you need.
I had jabs before we flew and they made sure that I had the non active jab for typhoid as I may still have a compromised immune system (although think it should be fine as has been a while since chemo).
There is a higher risk of DVT with malignancy which is worth bearing in mind for longer flights. Keep hydrated, walking around and wear some flight socks.
Anyway - best dash, but let me know if you would like any more info from our hols and my experiences.
Thanks for your reply... it sounds like you are having an amazing time!
It is good to hear about your travel insurance, and Insurancewith is a company we have heard about, and great that you got cover from them for such an exciting holiday.
Also, thank you for the heads up about getting travel jabs and the immune system, and the DVT suggestions.
I look forward to seeing photos of your trip, and hopefully be able to find out a bit more when you are back.
Enjoy the rest of your time in Thailand, and fingers crossed for the scuba diving...
Hi Graeme, I have just arranged travel insurance with Boots. Not only was it very cheap and covered my heart condition and lung cancer for just over £40 for 11 days but you get boots points as well. Happy days!!!
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