Travel insurance FAQs

Hello everyone. Towards the end of last year, we published our new booklet: Travelling, going on holiday an lung cancer. It includes information that can help people with lung cancer search for travel insurance.

As the holiday season approaches, we are linking up with a travel insurance consultant to do a "frequently asked questions" page for our website.

So, this is your chance to ask about the pros and cons of travel insurance, why some companies will give you cover and others won't, and any other issues that are cropping up for you as you think about travelling or going on holiday and would like to get insurance cover.

Please message me here with your questions and we'll cover as many as we can when we post the answers on line. Our website is roycastle.org, and I'll post a link to the page once it is ready. My email is [e-mail] if you'd prefer to send your questions to me directly.

Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.

Graeme Henderson (Information Officer)

[GlasgowRangers]

That is great Graeme. The minefield that is Travel Insurance for cancer sufferers. The biggest problem I have had, getting travel insurance for my husband, is that the insurance companies don't like "maintenance chemotherapy" when administered by IV ( in our case Pemetrexed). They don't seem to grasp that the maintenance chemotherapy is for people living with cancer, that have responded well to the previous chemotherapy regime and the tumors are showing signs of reducing. This is actually good news yet I have still had problems getting travel insurance between the maintenance chemotherapy sessions which are every three weeks ongoing (until it were no longer to work then they try something else). Perhaps a travel insurance consultant could explain this issue in more detail.

[Hidden in reply to GlasgowRangers]

Hello GlasgowRangers. Thank you for this. We have recently had a couple of similar inquiries, and it's part of the reason we think it would be good to have the FAQs. Everyone's circumstances are different, and the reality is that in some cases travelling abroad isn't recommended so insurance may be difficult, if not unlikely, to get.

My understanding is that, surgery and chemotherapy, for example, have recovery periods within which doctors recommend no travel, so insurance companies will work to those guidelines. After chemotherapy, this may be up to six weeks, and blood tests/health checks may be carried out before being cleared for travel. The issue of travelling during a course of treatment crops up quite often. It is a great suggestion to add in.

Out recent booklet, travelling, going on holiday and lung cancer, offers suggestions for travel insurance companies as well as information around travelling in general if someone has lung cancer. You can see it on our website, or I am happy to post you a copy.

Thanks. G.