Out of Province / country health insurance

[Donald123]

Just diagnosed with muscle invasive bladder cancer 5 weeks ago and started chemo last week.  Lots of decisions to make and will lots of questions no doubt later.

One seemingly small question;  Does anyone have experience with how this diagnosis and/or treatment would impact travel insurance?  Wouldn’t mind taking a short trip while on my week off chemo before my health/energy deteriorates and have my radical surgery this winter.

Regards, Don

 

 

[Jack Moon]

Hi Donald

Travel with-in Canada (except Quebec) OHIP covers any medical expenses with the exception of ambulances.

Travel outside of Canada, it is recommended to obtain Medical Travel Insurance. The insurance company questionnaire will ask several questions including your cancer diagnosis. They will charge you a premium because of the cancer diagnosis.

Always best to contact travel insurance company and find out the cost when travelling outside of Canada. Many of the insurance companies coverage can be done on line.

All the best,

Jack

 

[Rick B]

Hi Don,

First, sorry to hear of the MIBC…wishing you the very best with surgery, etc. coming up. There are many on this forum who have experienced what you are about to go through so please reach out if you have not already done so. There are many success stories…stay strong, stay positive…

Just to add to Jack’s recommendation to get Travel Insurance…if you carry Group Health Ins at work that covers travel outside Canada or Group Health as a retiree, make sure the Travel Insurer does not require the co-pay arrangement. In other words, if they do require co-pay arrangement your Group Health will have to pay first and they will cover any residual. You may decide to forego Travel Ins for just a week or two if you have a reasonable amount of Group Health coverage…just a thought.

Again, best wishes with the upcoming surgery…keep us in the loop.

Rick

[DerekA]

Hello Don,

Sorry to hear that you have Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer. That was my diagnosis almost exactly 3 years ago. I remember how scared, confused, and anxious that my wife and I felt at the time. Fortunately, now 3 years later, I am cancer free and my life is completely back to normal. You can read about my journey in the Forum under “Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer”, by DerekA, and also the “Hot Topic” article “Derek Anderson’s Story”. Hopefully your outcome will be as positive as mine. Feel free to contact Bladder Cancer Canada if you would like to talk to me directly.

With regard to your travel insurance question, I just renewed my travel insurance with CAA (Quebec). My understanding is that my insurance would not cover any recent health problems but unlike say a heart condition, bladder cancer is unlikely to cause an immediate need to be hospitalized. I could always get back home. So, I look at it as not a big risk to travel. Also, during my dark days, I tried to keep positive and my spirits up by doing things that I liked, such as seeing family/friends, walks, dinner out, entertainment, short trips, etc.

Hope all goes well,

Derek

[Donald123]

Thanks Jack, Rick and Derek for the info and support.  Much appreciated.

Uncertain whether I will travel while on chemo though.  My second round of chemo was cancelled as my blood analyses showed WBC, RBC, HGB, Neutrofil, and Mono Absolute all about half the lower vend of the reference range.

Probably not a good idea to expose myself to all those germs and viruses that go along with travel.  Perhaps I’ll wait till spring when I’ve fully recovered from my RC.

Don

• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by Donald123.

[Gord]

Hi Don. Just responding to your question about insurance.  At age 52, I was diagnosed in January 2012 and had my RC (with Neobladder) in June 2013, with chemo in between. I was on a three round/four week cycle, and found that the fourth week, when I did not have chemo, and before they hit me hard again on week one, was my “power week”, when I had more energy and appetite, so we did a couple of long weekend trips here in Ontario that were just right. I found that it took some months for energy and confidence to be in full supply after surgery. But one year after my surgery, the next summer, my wife and I did a three week trip to Europe, which I handled really well. I found that Manulife’s Cover Me Travel Insurance was good, as I was then one year cancer free, which can be a marker point for some insurance companies. In the interview I fully declared my health history, and they covered me for anything for the trip. It cost significantly more than my wife’s insurance but the peace of mind was worth it for a trip I wasn’t sure I would be around to take just a year earlier. Hoping for the same result for you post RC – cancer free and ready to resume your regular life as before, albeit a little different. Not an issue now that I am 6 years cancer free. Hope this helps.

Gord

[Donald123]

Thanks Gord for your reply and info. Great to hear “six tears cancer free”!

In the winter of 2017 I had a colon resection due to cancer in the sigmoid colon.  The operation went very well, recovery time was relatively short, and the three months of chemo following wasn’t too bad.  Chemo one day per week,  every other week, for twelve weeks.  Chemo week was a little rough, but the off week I felt pretty good, especially as spring arrived.  I could golf nine holes walking, mow the lawn, garden, etc.  After two rears I was ‘cancer free’ and thought that was all behind me.

The impact of this pre-adjuvant chemo for bladder cancer seems like it might be considerably worse.  Only had one treatment, and started to regain some energy by the time the next week’s treatment was due.  As mentioned in a post above my second round was cancelled last week due to bloodwork results, so this week I’ve perhaps 80% of my energy.  Gold 18 holes yesterday!  Chemo due to resume this coming Thursday, and not sure what to expect.  Last time the side effects worsened with each subsequent treatment.  I’d imagine this will happen again, but even more so as two weeks in a row and then one week off.

Maybe not though.  Has anyone else had chemo treatments for two different cancers to compare?

Don

 

 

 

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