It’s my 30th birthday in April and I was planning to go to New York for a special treat with my husband, obviously this has all been put back on the shelf since my diagnosis.
I still would love to go for a 2/3 days dependant on the timing of chemo etc…but would I get any travel insurance from anywhere? If not how long after treatment can you be covered? When do they class as treatment completed…after chemo finishes or after being given the all clear?
Am a bit gutted as we never go on holiday and I was kind of holding out for our little trip until everything came crashing down about a month ago =(
I went on holiday 3 weeks after 2nd op (for clear margins) but before chemo started. I got travel insurance ok, it was from advice on here but i cant remember the firm. if you put travel insurance into the search lots of threads will come up!
Hope you get to go on your trip!
love debs xxx
I think the answer is that you can always get cover - but at a price.
Going to the States tends to make the premiums more expensive because of the high cost of medical treatment there. That said, if you are only away for a few days or so, that will be cheaper (because the insurance company perceives it as less risky - for them - not you) than for a longer period, of course.
A lot of people have used miaonline and been pleased with their quotes. And I’m sure that others will be able to suggest other insurers to try as well.
I think you may well also need a letter from your consultant stating that you are fit to travel.
The expression ‘all clear’ does not really have meaning in medical terms; if you have had a diagnosis of cancer the price of your premiums will, I believe, reflect this for at least five years, possibly longer.
But don’t let that put you off! A trip away is bound to do you the power of good. But would it be a good idea to wait and see how chemotherapy affects you first, or were you trying to fit the visit in before that phase of treatment started?
Thanks so much for your replies. I am due to have a bilateral mastectomy and DIEP recon, with chemo starting 4/6 weeks after that. I will just have to play it by ear and see how I feel during chemo sessions.
i got insurance with ‘GETMY’ who specialise in insurance for people with existing medical conditions.
i got annual cover for the total of £65 for myself, partner and two teenagers in april, which was 3 years after my first diagnosis and a month before i was diagnosed again, obviously it would be a bit more expensive the closer you are to diagnosis and would depend on your own circumstances re the type and extent of the cancer but def worth getting a quote for them.
my policy was just for europe so going to the US would make it more expensive too.
i am off to new york in march for a long weekend to recover from treatment and will have to get my policy amended for that.
I’m going to the Amazon/Carribean next week. As soon as I finished rads in August I took out the insurance. My best quote was from Tesco as miaonline wanted huge amounts for my Dad who is travelling with me. It was 300’ish for the 2 of us for 2 weeks. I know other people have travelled during treatment. x
I had a quote from Mia for my husband and I to spend 6 weeks in NZ. It was £350.
I asked what the split was, and despite having secondaries and my husband being in excellent health, it was his age (he’s 15 years older than me) and not my illness that sent the premium up. His share of the joint premium was £50 more than mine.
I didn’t use them in the end. I live in France, and paid a similar price from a French company that specialises in covering people with pre-existing conditions. I went with the French company because they could offer cancellation insurance, ie if anything happened bc-wise between now and when we go, we are still covered for a refund, etc, which Mia would not do for us. Mia would only cover for bc-related problems once we were there.
Also, sometimes it’s worth shopping around and taking out separate policies for each person.
i just input my details into GETMY for a single trip to the US for 5 days for me and OH and its £55 even with a recent diagnosis of BC… but have no nodes or mets which puts the premium up.
they do also pay out as i needed to cancel my holiday in august due to chemo and received a full refund.
just spoken to GETMY and they will only cover me for a single trip to US for me and OH - £330! Will keep trying other companies, perhaps expensive cos of node involvement?? Annual policy for us both excluding BC - £130
x
I got a good deal from ‘All Clear Insurance Services’. You can find them online and work out how much it will cost you from their website.
Best wishes
Anthi
jayney i input my details again and still get it about £65ish for annual not including BC as diagnosis within last 2 years… i got it originally including BC when i was 3 years post diagnosis… so think its maybe got more to do with time… i did it as a couple and came out as £64.08 which is the total not the individual amount…
i wouldnt have thought you would need any emergency treatment or investigations for bc especially none that couldnt wait until you were home.
I am 2 and half years post-op. Grade 3, had chemo, radiotherapy and a year of Herceptin. I obtained annual worldwide travel insurance with Direct Line. This also included my husband and I think the price was about £130.00. The only thing this did not cover was cancellation of holiday.
I have recently taken out a weeks insurance with insureitpink for me and my 18 month old daughter (don’t expect that she cost much). We are off to Tenerife and it cost about £45.00 for both of us. I have no idea if this is reasonable or not as I must admit that I didn’t shop around but I had to be 6 weeks after rads finished (which I was just) and they covered me for everything. Gone are the days of a weeks holiday insurance for less than £20.00
Hi Lulu, I think I will have to exclude BC, as won’t be able to afford the holiday if I have to pay that premium! As you say, I would hope that any treatment I need could be done when I get home. By the time I go, treatment will be finished, apart from Herceptin and tamoxifen. I spoke to a really helpful lady at GETMY and she did say that when you ask for the US to be added, the premiums rocket!
Thanks to you other ladies, will try a few more now!
i think it varies from company to company for example my friend had mastectomy and 18 nodes removed and also wle to other breast she already had an annual policy so she rang them and have excluded it from the policy. mine is also an exsisting policy so i will ring them when i finish rads. but you definately have to declare it anyway for exsisting or new policy
sue
