CANCER DOESN’T CARE IF YOU HAVE INSURANCE OR NOT

Why I’m Grateful for The Things I Hoped I’d Never Need

For 51 years I was fit and healthy. I’ve always been a sports lover and was involved in some form of sport from a very young age. The only thing that really troubled me was arthritic knees caused by many years of playing netball. So each month when the insurance premiums were deducted from my account, I used to wonder why on earth I continued to pay when I had never needed it.

You can imagine my surprise when I found myself sitting in my surgeon’s office thinking I was going to have a growth removed from my foot only to be told that I had Stage 3 Melanoma. My cancer was aggressive and I was in for the fight of my life. The surgeon had booked me into a Private Hospital for surgery in 5 days’ time. The cancer had spread from my foot to my lymph nodes so the surgery was extensive. He told me the recovery would be at least 2 months then I would need 2 years of treatment. It all happened very quickly but there was no deliberating, the cancer had to be removed.

“However, anxious thoughts ran through my mind. I have my own business, if I don’t work, I don’t make money.”

That was when I became very grateful for the insurance I had taken out all those years ago. I was grateful that my parents had instilled in me the importance of both health and life insurance. I was grateful that I continued to pay these premiums even when my back was to the wall in business and the financial strain hit, as it can sometimes tend to do. I was thankful I didn’t make a potentially fatal decision and cancel it, rather managed my finances to ensure all the necessities were paid.

“The major benefit of having the various insurances in place (health and critical illness) was, I could basically push pause on my business, have the surgery, focus on healing and fighting the cancer knowing I had the financial freedom to do so.”

The day the critical illness payment hit my account is the day I breathed so much easier. I was also very grateful for the support of my Financial Planner and her team. They facilitated the claims process, told me what I had to do and made it as easy as possible. Without them, I would have had to sift through cumbersome forms – they did that hard work for me.

“Cancer doesn’t care if you have insurance or not.”

It doesn’t discriminate. It can hit you at any time. It will turn your life upside down. The last thing you want to be worrying about is if you can afford a treatment or if you can have life saving surgery in time or if you can take time off to heal. Investing in your long-term health by taking out insurance was a life saver for me – and it can be for you too.

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