Cancer and travel health insurance: What coverage do you get?

Posted by northoftheborder @northoftheborder, Apr 19 2:00pm

For people who have active and/or advanced cancer, how do you handle health insurance when traveling outside your country with a serious pre-existing condition? Do you just self-insure (roll the dice), or pay extra for special coverage?

I'm interested in hearing from everyone, but especially from Canadians or Europeans traveling to the U.S., because that's where an unexpected hospital visit could really empty your retirement savings fast.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Cancer Support Group.

@northoftheborder

I was terrified about travelling to Europe for two weeks last June (my first overseas trip since 2019, before the Pandemic).

What if I'm tired all the time? What if there's an airline stoppage and I run out of cancer meds? What if they confiscate my meds at airport security? What if I need urgent medical care? What if I'm in extreme pain sitting in an economy airplane seat for 8 hours? What if my bladder-control problems come back and the seatbelt sign is on?

None of that happened. It was wonderful. Now you could barely hold me back from taking my next trip.

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Good for you!
I went to Italy in 2023...and I got travel insurance which covered me medically. I have lung cancer so did not want to be stuck there. My BCBS Medigap policy would hav covered 80% of emergency care, but I put out $400 to have better coverage in any evetuality.
I wore a mask on the flight in US...it was croded....then airplane food is bad so not hard to do. The flight to Europe had lots of empty seats
I especially appreciated the wheel chair assistance. Wow, it took me through all the lines and to the right gate ...well worth a good tip!

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@vic83

Good for you!
I went to Italy in 2023...and I got travel insurance which covered me medically. I have lung cancer so did not want to be stuck there. My BCBS Medigap policy would hav covered 80% of emergency care, but I put out $400 to have better coverage in any evetuality.
I wore a mask on the flight in US...it was croded....then airplane food is bad so not hard to do. The flight to Europe had lots of empty seats
I especially appreciated the wheel chair assistance. Wow, it took me through all the lines and to the right gate ...well worth a good tip!

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Well done! Your story is a reminder to not impose limits on ourselves that do not need to exist. Safe travels to all

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@vic83

Good for you!
I went to Italy in 2023...and I got travel insurance which covered me medically. I have lung cancer so did not want to be stuck there. My BCBS Medigap policy would hav covered 80% of emergency care, but I put out $400 to have better coverage in any evetuality.
I wore a mask on the flight in US...it was croded....then airplane food is bad so not hard to do. The flight to Europe had lots of empty seats
I especially appreciated the wheel chair assistance. Wow, it took me through all the lines and to the right gate ...well worth a good tip!

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I did my first trip in a wheelchair, too.

When airline staff were pushing me to the front of the security line, I heard someone a little distance away joke quietly to a friend "I should have come in a wheelchair!"

I was briefly tempted to turn around and say "sure, but then you have to stay in it for your whole trip," but I decided I could be better than that.

I hope he learns some day how ignorant his "joke" was, without having to go through what we're going through. And I forgive him.

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@northoftheborder

I did my first trip in a wheelchair, too.

When airline staff were pushing me to the front of the security line, I heard someone a little distance away joke quietly to a friend "I should have come in a wheelchair!"

I was briefly tempted to turn around and say "sure, but then you have to stay in it for your whole trip," but I decided I could be better than that.

I hope he learns some day how ignorant his "joke" was, without having to go through what we're going through. And I forgive him.

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You have more self-control than I do!
Sorry, did not mean to confuse. Fortunately I am not confined to a wheel chair. I just have problem walking distances gvien my lost lung capacity . I was referring to the wheelchair service now offered at airports for anyone who is physially in difficulty for walking the distance.
And it is a worldwide service. I especially loved the service in Milan Italy airport. The wheelchair was motorized! Good thing because I was staying at hotel in the airport and the distance was really far!

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@vic83

You have more self-control than I do!
Sorry, did not mean to confuse. Fortunately I am not confined to a wheel chair. I just have problem walking distances gvien my lost lung capacity . I was referring to the wheelchair service now offered at airports for anyone who is physially in difficulty for walking the distance.
And it is a worldwide service. I especially loved the service in Milan Italy airport. The wheelchair was motorized! Good thing because I was staying at hotel in the airport and the distance was really far!

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No confusion at all. Disability is more complex than many able people realise.

My story is from 2 years ago. I was also able to go short distances using a walker/rollator by then (a *huge* victory after a year's hard physical rehab while also dealing with cancer treatments), but I wasn't up for the long walks in an airport yet.

I never got all my mobility back, but I can get around reasonably well now, and no longer require extra boarding assistance for planes or trains, or take the accessible seats on transit. I've also take the accessible parking permit out of the car. I feel very fortunate.

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@northoftheborder

No confusion at all. Disability is more complex than many able people realise.

My story is from 2 years ago. I was also able to go short distances using a walker/rollator by then (a *huge* victory after a year's hard physical rehab while also dealing with cancer treatments), but I wasn't up for the long walks in an airport yet.

I never got all my mobility back, but I can get around reasonably well now, and no longer require extra boarding assistance for planes or trains, or take the accessible seats on transit. I've also take the accessible parking permit out of the car. I feel very fortunate.

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And to add a nice note, on the trip home — again, this is back in fall 2022 — an Air Canada gate agent noticed that I'd been waiting for a while in the wheelchair for an "official" escort, so she slipped away from the check-in desk and pushed me herself all the way through the airport and right to my car in the underground parking lot (my spouse was with me, but she couldn't push both the wheelchair and the baggage cart).

That young women went way above and beyond, and I took a photo of her ID badge (with her permission) so that I could send a letter to Air Canada.

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@northoftheborder

And to add a nice note, on the trip home — again, this is back in fall 2022 — an Air Canada gate agent noticed that I'd been waiting for a while in the wheelchair for an "official" escort, so she slipped away from the check-in desk and pushed me herself all the way through the airport and right to my car in the underground parking lot (my spouse was with me, but she couldn't push both the wheelchair and the baggage cart).

That young women went way above and beyond, and I took a photo of her ID badge (with her permission) so that I could send a letter to Air Canada.

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I am glad you did that.
I will complain about something not right...the only way to change it, silence doesn't work... however, I do believe it is also important to tell someone when something is done well.

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