This is a really big Thank you to those of you who inspired me to proceed with a claim. I was told on Friday that my claim was successful! As a first time Mum to a 6 month old this money will allow me to option to return to work on my terms.
Being diagnosed with ET has been mind blowing especially after the proceeding 2 years when I had been through IVF, a miscarriage and a truly dreadful pregnancy. I’m determined to look at this positively, if I’m going to have cancer, and 1 in 2 of us are, I think this is one of the ones I’d choose. I’ve has my ups & downs of course. Peg interferon didn’t reduce my platelets (almost 1200) as hoped and chemo has been added but finally I’m in the 700’s so a big leap in the right direction. Fatigue is a factor but not so much so that it stopped me taking a trip to Paris with a 6 month old to tag along with a work trip of Daddy’s.
My platelets have been high for years but I was only informed of this when 7 months pregnant and suffering from preeclampsia. I am so blessed that no one noticed my seriously high platelets as I wouldn’t be a Mummy right now. I’m not a gambler and wouldn’t have taken the chance had I known.
To anyone reading this who finds themselves newly diagnosed and floored by the news try and look on the bright side. Trust me it helps.
Written by
JojoWonder
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Brilliant news! So glad you claimed and were successful. Hopefully that has lifted some of the burden from your shoulders. Enjoy your baby. Time flies so fast!
Hi what lovely news and you sound positive about your ET it is a shock at first but many live full lives and you have your lovely baby to enjoy stay strong and happy best wishes Poppy
I'm pleased to hear that the critical illness policy will serve its purpose well for you and allow you greater flexibility with work. It must be a huge relief.
A bitter sweet story and I like the positive outlook.
Do you mind me asking who your critical illness was with?
Wishing you all the very best (and another nice family trip away)
Of course not. It was with Aviva. I found them very pleasant to deal with from start to finish. A tip - I think it’s a speedier process if you speak directly to the Assessors directly rather than filling out the forms yourself. I found that it took a time for the paperwork to reach the Assessors before they were able to look in to a claim. Once it was in their hands it was very quickly concluded.
Thank you for responding. I'm with L&G so when I get a definitive diagnosis I hope the process will be simple. I intend to 'educate' them with my claim form and refer to the ABI statement that's been mentioned on here. I definitely agree that it's best to speak to underwriters direct. The irony - I used to be a mortgage advisor and advise and sell life and critical policies. I always felt passionate about people seeing the value in them. Its quite ironic I that I may be able to claim but I guess it backs up the points I used to make when I was advising.
Glad your claim is going to make a difference to you and help you manage your MPN a little better.
Absolutely thrilled for you even though you have an MPN. Like you I count myself lucky, so many people have worse illnesses and disabilities than me- MS, MUSCULAR DISTROPHY, LOSS OF SIGHT. Thank you you’ve just reminded me and made me stop feeling sorry for myself.
Thank you. It’s not like I’m trying to make light of it. Of course I’d rather not have ET, it feels like a bit of a shadow on my life but I’m determined to enjoy each day and keep focused on all the positives. Some days it’s harder than others. The way I see things is I can use this issue as a reminder that life is short and to not take things for granted. Keep smiling x
Great news. You are among an increasing number of people who have made successful claims. I hope it encourages others to dig out their policies and have a look to see if they are covered for critical illness.
Great news, and hope going well in this lockdown with your child. I put in a Claim with Aviva in January, six months later still no decision same as you Peg Interferon every week, platelets were 1115. I'll keep everything crossed
Hello, thank you for getting in touch. Things are good. My platelets have been stable for the last 6 months in the 200’s 🙌🏻
My little one is 21 months now and keeps me busy but we have thankfully kept safe & well.
I must say I’m really surprised that it’s taken so long for your claim to go through. Mine was dealt with very quickly. I assume you’ve chased them up? Fingers crossed for good news for you soon x
Good news for your platelets, mine too are way down now 300 ish. yes I chased them, saying it's because of the Covid-19 virus , my new campervan will have to wait
Damn COVID!! They will back date premiums from the date you submitted anyway. The good news is that you can’t go away in your camper van at the moment anyway! 😂
I bought a little chalet in west wales with mine. I was going to be super sensible but after working non stop for many years I needed a reason not to fall back in to that trap. We haven’t long finished the renovations and I’m now longing to get back down there.
Please keep us updated. I really hope it all works out for you x
Also - more importantly - I’m glad your platelets are down to a healthy level. It took the best part of a year for mine to be where they should be so you are doing really well x
Hi, apologies but I’m going to pick your brain as I got diagnosed a few weeks ago and am still figuring stuff out. What is critical illness cover and do I need to worry about it? I have life insurance (to pay my mortgage if I die) but that’s it. Which reminds me I should tell them about my diagnosis I guess as I took it out when I was blissfully unaware of the C diagnosis. There’s so much to think about and it’s frying my brain!
I think most of us on this site can relate to having a fried brain when first diagnosed. It took me quite some time to get my head around things. Try not to get freaked out and focus on positives instead of what ifs. It’s easy to focus on the worst case scenarios especially when dealing with the C word. A year and half since I started my ET journey and with good stable blood counts, due to meds, I’m in a good place and feel fit, healthy and a lot less freaked out.
So Critical illness cover is different to life insurance. It’s not to say you don’t have it. It’s one of those things I signed up for along with my mortgage as if I wasn’t able to work I wanted to have a buffer. I knew I paid something monthly but probably wouldn’t have come up with the term critical illness cover at that point. I checked my monthly payments and paperwork and called them to check my cover and to send out the claim documentation.
I hope you find you have it and are successful in a claim.
Best wishes, Joanne x
Congrats that’s great news! Sounded like a fairly straight forward claim
The only thing l wondered particularly as we know people are being diagnosed with ET at younger ages. if ET is seen as a Critical illness will this not effect or even rule out those who may try to get mortgages or other types of insurance.
It’s a good point. If I remember rightly my Critical illness cover was cancelled after my claim and my Husband had to reapply for a solo policy. I don’t remember there being any issues when I reapplied for a mortgage after our fixed rate ended. Travel insurance was simple and with a very minimal increase. I had life insurance in place anyway. It’s a minefield but I’ve had few problems really.
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same as you Peg Interferon every week, platelets were 1115. I'll keep everything crossed 
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