Hello ALFIE1, 

A warm welcome to our forum! I hope you won't mind but I have slightly changed the title of your post so that it includes the words 'travel insurance' as this will hopefully make it more visible to others who have been in a similar situation to you before and who may have good travel insurance tips to share. 

We also have information on our website on travel insurance which you can find on this page. It's great news that your scans have showed that your cancer has shrunk and I hope you can find the perfect travel insurance and enjoy a well deserved holiday! 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi Alfie,

Big question - has anyone treating you actually used the word terminal?

This may seem like a strange question, but I ask because many people conflate late Stage or Stage 4 with terminal. Normally this isn't important but one of the first things an insurance company will ask is "have you been given a terminal diagnosis". If you can honestly answer NO to that question it could make a massive difference to the price. When I was first diagnosed at Stage 4, I was told I had between 2 months and 18 months to live, but no-one medical used the word terminal. 

In the past I've used both Insurewith and AllClear whilst travelling with cancer - the first time was two weeks after finishing chemo. It can be expensive but that's better than facing massive bills if you get taken ill abroad.

Shop around, use price comparison sites as well as the companies own websites. I've known there to be over £1,000 difference for identical cover with different companies.

Also if you fill out the online forms but then you reach a page which says ring this number, insist they retrieve the details you've already submitted and qualify for aany booked online discounts.

Another tip - keep an eye out for them excluding pre-existing conditions. I almost got caught out with this because a different company was charging me far less but when I read the small print it excluded my cancer from any potential claims.

Good luck

Dave

Hi Dave thanks for your reply , i have spoke with my oncologist about my cancer and i did ask her if it was terminal mainly because this is what the insurance companys i have spoke too  have asked me this ,.her reply was yes it was terminal but it was responding well to treatment,she said that because it was lung cancer and had gone in my lymp nodes and in the next breath she was saying that the the cancer had disappeared from my stomach and other areas.i have only had immunatherapy for 5 months which worked a treat until side effects kicked in and then it was stopped (nothing since May)I feel really good at the moment apart from alittle breathless so im finding it hard to understand .Scans every 3-4 month,she has said my cancer can not operate on.