ON THE PULSE… for people affected by breast cancer

Cancerkin’s news Update….
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and this is already proving to be a busy month for Cancerkin. On 1st October, Floris held a fundraising event for us at their Jermyn St shop. For more details of the evening, see the ‘latest news’ section on our website at www.cancerkin.org.uk
On 8th October, we are celebrating the formal handover of the Intrabeam machine to the Royal Free Hospital; Cancerkin raised over £200,000 towards the cost of this piece of equipment, which it is hoped could revolutionise radiotherapy treatment for women with breast cancer. We will also be celebrating with our much loved Chairman, Santy Parbhoo, who is standing down from this position to become President of Cancerkin.
On 14th October, we will be manning a stand in the hospital, telling visitors and patients about Cancerkin and the work that we do. Please do come along and visit us on the day, just by the Atrium or indeed on any weekday 9am – 5pm in the Cancerkin Centre.

In the news…
Critical Illness and travel insurance
A report in Telegraph Money on Saturday 3rd October http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/criticalillness/6251215/How-important-is-critical-illness-cover.html talked about the importance of critical illness cover in an age where medical advances mean that many more people are surviving conditions (e.g. cancer and heart attacks) that have killed previous generations. They point out that according to the Office for National Statistics, more than 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK are still alive 5 years later. The article refers to the fact that one in five claims for this type of cover is for breast cancer, but points out that there may be conditions attached to the policy preventing a full or even partial pay out. Kevin Carr, spokesman for PruProtect said: “Breast cancer is covered by critical illness policies, but many policies exclude ‘early stage cancer’ which is when cancer is considered to be non-invasive. Breast cancer may be considered to be ‘early stage’ even if a lumpectomy or mastectomy is required and therefore, many insurers will not pay out”.
However, there are insurers who will pay out in whole or in part. It is important to check the wording and conditions covered or excluded. Many people do have critical illness cover and have either forgotten about it or are not aware that it could cover the hard financial situation they are in.
A further article in the same section of the newspaper talks about the difficulty many cancer patients (some, who were successfully treated many years ago) have in finding travel insurance. In some cases, they are charged significantly higher premiums and in others, they are refused altogether. However, they do give examples of specialist providers such as Insurepink, Free Spirit, MRL, GetMy.com, Saga, Flexicover Direct, Cancertravelinsurance.com and insurecancer.com. Please note that these companies are not recommended, but are mentioned on the basis that they are known to offer insurance to those with pre existing medical conditions.

5th October 2009