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Do I Have Long Term Illness

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User
Posted 11 Mar 2021 at 19:44

Regularly we need to state if suffer from long term health problem when applying for  insurance, loan, gym membership etc. I don't like to tell lies but I'm always unsure if I have a long term illness - I probably have and I have always said so, since diagnosis.

Diagnosed Oct 2015 psa 21, Gleason 8 (up to 9 after TURP) slight spread to seminals. RT Nov/Dec 16, 3 yrs HT which included 2 yrs abiraterone, enzalutimide & prednisolone.

Treatment done what supposed to at present, latest PSA 0.5. I guess as Prostate Cancer cannot be actually cured, I have to say I've a long term illness and always have to?

Now, do I actually have cancer? If/when I get to remission and full remission is it correct to declare long term illness?(obviously anything else can crop up, I know that) it probably remains long term illness etc?

Cheers 

Peter

User
Posted 11 Mar 2021 at 19:49
No, you had cancer, you have had and completed treatment, you are assumed to no longer have cancer. You would disclose a long term illness if it came back and you were told you were now incurable.
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 11 Mar 2021 at 21:10
That seems quite clear thanks. I was always 'concerned' I'd be telling lies.

Peter

User
Posted 11 Mar 2021 at 21:40
It does depend on the questions. Travel insurers usually ask whether you have needed to have hospital treatment or seen a specialist in the last 5 years and of course, your answer to that would be yes. Then they usually ask whether you are incurable and whether you are currently on treatment. Your answer to those would be no.

If in doubt, speak to a real person rather than fill in online questions. It may cost a fraction more to get a policy from a company with real people at the end of a phone but it is so reassuring to be able to give context and have reassurance that you have given factually correct info.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 11 Mar 2021 at 21:49
Yes you're quite right obviously. Think I did speak to Insurewith last year when arranging travel insurance and your comments sound familiar, as it happens the travel insurance wasn't needed as the travel was cancelled. Other things like the online consult thing for GP appts ask if long term illness for example, I know GP will have a record.

Thanks again

Peter

User
Posted 12 Mar 2021 at 02:49
We have annual worldwide travel insurance together with other perks through a Nationwide FlexAccount for under fifteen quid a month. I haven’t thought to tell them I had prostate cancer about three years ago, and even if it did recur it wouldn’t disrupt my trip.

It’s been used once this year, on an uneventful trip to Croatia.

Maybe I will mention my former affliction. Others who have done so have been charged a nominal surcharge, and some have been offered cover for the same price to the exclusion of PCa.

Cheers, John.

User
Posted 12 Mar 2021 at 08:36
You must tell them. Failing to do so would almost certainly result in your insurance being invalid in the event of a claim.

Best wishes,

Chris

User
Posted 12 Mar 2021 at 14:21
.... even if the subsequent claim had nothing to do with prostate cancer.

Did anyone see the tragic case of the guy who broke his neck in an accident on holiday and the insurers have refused to pay out for the weeks of hospitalisation, medical care, medication, operations and the specialist flight home? Reason? The insurers spotted something in his medical records that he had not disclosed - had nothing to do with why he had an accident. Family had to sell their house and put out a crowd funding appeal to pay all the medical / flight bills. My brother died in Greece when he was 27 and the insurance was invalid - we had to pay for the post-mortem, a daily rate for storage of the body, every certificate / consent slip, the cost of his body being fished out of the sea, and then the flight home in a casket. It cost us over £10k.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 12 Mar 2021 at 19:49
Yes I guess it's that sort of scenario I'm conscious of and reckon it's better to be a bit careful when getting insurance cover etc. Must be a nightmare to be denied something due to perhaps an oversight.

Peter

User
Posted 12 Mar 2021 at 22:31
That's why it's a lot better to speak to a person rather than tick boxes on a screen, even if it does cost a bit more. I just have my cancer excluded from my policy, but I made sure that they knew about it!

Chris

 
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