Health insurance for holidays

[AWibberley]

Hi - I am Stage IV with ALK Mutation and taking crizotinib. But since starting I have had two tumours in brain, one operated on 9 weeks ago and gamma knife treatment planned tomorrow on the other and some of the core left from the op. Can anyone advise if you are able to get health insurance to go on holiday following these procedures? Are there specialist companies we should contact? Many thanks for your time.

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hi Awibberly,

You might want to try Staysure which is on our website but you can access it via the link below.

roycastle.org/how-we-help/s...

Staysure is a specialist in travel insurance for people with medical conditions.

Frequently acknowledged for its quality and service, in 2016 it was the highest rated customer experience travel insurance provider on Trustpilot as well as named the Number One for Customer Experience by Mintel UK Travel Insurance.

Also,there are a few other speacialist brokers and companies which are included in the attached link documents.roycastle.org/Liv...

Hope this helps.

All the team at Roy Castle Helpline

[AWibberley in reply to RoyCastleHelpline]

Thank you

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle in reply to RoyCastleHelpline]

Recently at Roy Castle we have recived feedback from callers who have approached staysure, they have been unsucessful in getting insurance from this company despite having had curative lung surgery. It is always worth getting a few quotes from various companies, we have a very imformative booklet which includes a list of insurance companies, this can be viewed on line,

roycastle.org/system/file_u...

or if you wish to order a copy please give us a call on freephone 0800 358 7200.

Kind regards

Roy Castle Helpline

[hedgehoggy]

Hi AWibberley

I agree Staysure is good although I hadn't used them since I had my brain tumours but I have researched them for a quote and they came out best.

All the best for the treatment tomorrow and let us know how it goes. I had exactly the same and although a different stage and under different circumstsnces , I quite enjoyed that treatment better than chemo or even my lung cancer op. Originally. Although I'm not a fan of steroids that I had to have!

Doing my health insurance researches I found that the form is basically a standard one for all but the newer your treatment or if you sre still being monitored with the hospital , that is when the price goes up.

Hope this helps and all best wishes.

Hoggy

[Janey_H]

Hi

We have used insurancewith and have found them very good. I haven't had brain mets but know someone who has used this insurance and they had had brain mets. When we have used them you end up speaking to a person who does an individualised quote based on your exact situation.

We had to claim on the insurance (not due to my cancer but due to my dad having a fall just before we left) and they were really helpful and paid out the claim in full.

Good luck and hope the treatments have gone well and you are able to get a holiday.

Best wishes

JaneyH

[Ribeye79]

There is a key decision you need to make on this. Do you want insurance to cover any medical issue which relates to your condition? Or do you wish to exclude any related medical problem? Needless to say, one comes with more risk than the other should you find yourself having complications which relates directly to your existing condition. On the other hand there is a considerable cost difference. If you have been 'stable' and well for a lengthy period and want a short break then a 'known conditions excluded' policy could be considered if your doctor/oncologist agrees (and you may need a fitness to travel/fly letter from them anyway.) But as you appear to be in the midst of current, post-operative recovery this might not be a sensible near-term choice. Over the longer term, however, it's a different risk/cost/benefit consideration.

For an easy, low cost exclusion policy I use globelink.co.uk but that's because my wife (also ALK, crizotinib) has been symptom free for over six months.

Good luck with the op.

[dizzie-wh]

If you're travelling within the zones they cover i.e. Europe and Turkey/Egypt then Eurotunnel Insurance is great. As long as you haven't been specifically told NOT to travel then they will cover you. As a safeguard I would get your oncologist to sign something (you can print it and ask him to sign) then you will be covered by them for everything. I found on a 2 week all-inclusive to Egypt in January it was under £30. Hope that helps. Diz

[Ailsu]

Yes use eurotunnel insurance. They ask are you stable, fit to fly and if terminal very reasonable x