Hi, has anyone managed to have a sensible discussion with an insurance company regarding the travel risks associated with being on ‘watch and wait’ (W&W)?
Right now I have been on W&W for a year since being diagnosed with Hairy Cell Leukaemia (Hairy cell leukaemia (HCL)) and all my levels have been pretty static.
Travel wise I am fully ‘jabbed up’ and aim to take with me some prophylactic antibiotics along with all the ‘normal’ travel medications for issues highlighted on the FCO pages for travellers so actually I am probably less of a risk than pre-diagnosis but of course none of this seems to taken into consideration when requesting a quote.
Hello @Griffmeister and welcome to this forum. I haven’t had experience of seeking travel insurance but if you type the words ‘travel insurance’ into the search bar at the top of this page you should find other queries that people have raised on this issue. I wish you well with your travels. Willow x
My experience to date has been a positive one with regards to travel insurance, albeit there was a higher costs for the policy as you may appreciate. I’m also on W&W or active monitoring as i prefer to refer to it. My travel policy is annual trip and expires later this year so I hope to have as smooth an experience as I did before and will see what the company I used have to say at the time.
Given I’ve had no change in my situation I’m hoping it will be a simple renewal of the policy.
Hi there. Ive just been diagnosed with T-LRLL and Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). (Unucky combination !). Trying to keep positive. On Wait and Watch but white cell count is concerning. We have two holidays booked over the next few months. Brazil and Thailand. Have not tried travel insurers as yet so wondered how you’re getting on with your research ? Any help appreciated.
Hi, I scanned all the forum posts and I think ‘insurewith’ was the only one that asked specifics on cell count levels etc. so their policy was much more tailored to ‘us’ than general cancer cover.
Also seemed ‘reasonable’ price wise compared with other sites.
I was interested to hear from someone else diagnosed with Hairy cell leukaemia (Hairy cell leukaemia (Hairy cell leukaemia (HCL))) as I received my diagnosis last month but, as you know there are very few with it in the UK, so I haven’t seen much in the UK forums, though I’ve found the US one very helpful. (I was going to include a link, but this forum wouldn’t let me. The US one is called the Hairy Cell Leukaemia Foundation).
I have no symptoms at all at present (it was only discovered because of a full blood count) so I’m hoping my watch and wait will be a long one.
I hope you managed to get some reasonable travel insurance (I haven’t tried yet) and that you continue in good health.
I looked around the various groups and ended up going with ‘insurancewith’ - google it , you’re right, no links allowed but being creative, www . insurancewith . com.
They were the only one I found where you can input specific details on blood counts etc. rather than just saying ‘leukaemia’ so their quotes are a bit more science based rather than standard algorithms.
For sure you are going to pay more than if you hadn’t got Hairy cell leukaemia (Hairy cell leukaemia (HCL)) but it’s one of the benefits of being special
Hello @Griffmeister, thank you for sharing your experience. I’ve also spent many an hour over the last few years looking for travel insurance as someone affected by blood cancer, so it’s helpful to hear from others who’ve done the same. I should probably also mention that we have a guide to travelling with blood cancer and that Blood Cancer UK has partnered with Staysure Travel Insurance - I’ve not used them myself, but thought I’d pass it on in case.
I wanted to quickly explain why your links didn’t appear. When you first join the forum, there are automatic restrictions on posting links to protect the community from spam, scams, and misleading information. Unfortunately, online health communities do get targeted, and the last thing anyone here needs are dodgy links appearing in their feed.
We use ‘Trust Levels’ that unlock as you get involved - most members progress through quite quickly just by being part of the community. We also have our brilliant Forum Support Volunteers (@FSVs) keeping an eye on things, and we encourage all community members to query anything that doesn’t feel right using the flag function.
Thanks for understanding, and for sharing your travel insurance tips; that kind of practical advice is incredibly helpful for others in similar situations.
