Empower Yourself Against Breast Cancer with Critical Illness Insurance.

In my career as a Financial Security Advisor, I come across many women who are concerned about what kind of an impact a serious illness would have on their life, career and their family. Breast cancer is an illness that often comes up in conversation and for good reason. It’s one of the most feared illnesses that Canadian women face.

The Canadian Cancer Society says breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer). In 2010,

• An estimated 23,200 women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 5,300 died of it.

• On average, 445 Canadian women are diagnosed with breast cancer every week.

• On average, 100 Canadian women will die of breast cancer every week,

The good news is that since the early nineties the incidence of breast cancer has stabilized and death rates have declined steadily. With early detection, improved treatments, prevention education, women today are doing much better in the battle against breast cancer.

Today, more women are financially prepared to deal with a critical illness like breast cancer thanks to critical illness insurance. Critical illness insurance is gaining popularity as a way to help you recover without financial pressures and without tapping into savings. If there was ever an insurance to help empower women during a cancer diagnosis and recovery, it’s critical illness insurance.

If your family’s medical history includes breast cancer or other health issues, then a critical illness insurance policy can offer you an additional layer of financial protection.

Critical illness insurance fills the gap in existing provincial health care coverage and can pay for an array of unexpected costs related to a breast cancer diagnosis, including time off work, child care, treatments, uninsured drugs and recovery. Critical illness insurance pays you a lump sum cash benefit of, say for example, $50,000 or $100,000 dollars upon the diagnosis and survival of up to 25 different medical conditions, including cancer.

Lost income and the rising costs of uninsured medications related to breast cancer is a serious and surprising consequence that affects many women in Canada.

Many women don’t have any financial support or insurance set up to protect them against the financial impact of a critical illness like breast cancer. Self-employed, contract workers, part-timers, and stay-at-home moms often need much more financial help, and this often puts stress on their spouse and family’s income. Even if you are employed, are you prepared to suddenly leave your job for eight to 12 months if you are diagnosed with breast cancer? Even if you have some group insurance (many women don’t even know what their group insurance covers), it’s often not enough to cover the costs and losses associated with un-insured drugs, your mortgage, family and other financial obligations.

Not too long ago a friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer while in-between jobs. She had no income coming in and no insurance.

She ended up having surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, while incurring a list of new expenses such as uninsured medications. Anti-nausea drugs cost her $100 dollars a pill and even the parking and travel to the hospital was starting to add up. She mentioned she wished someone would have told her about critical illness insurance a few years ago. Knowing what she knows now, she recommends all women consider some form of critical illness insurance protection.

There was a recent study conducted at Laval University, involving 800 women who underwent breast cancer treatment at 8 different hospitals. Of the total, 458 had a paying job at the time of diagnosis, including 74 per cent who worked full-time, 10 per cent part-time and 16 per cent who were self-employed.

According to the study, one in six women who had been working received no compensation at all, and only half the women benefited from private insurance from their employer. The research showed that women who suffered the most financially were those who underwent the most aggressive treatment – meaning surgery, radiation and chemotherapy – because they required the most time off. The study also showed that women with breast cancer took an average of 32 weeks off work while 22 per cent of women did not return to work after one year.

So what are you waiting for? Consider a first step towards critical illness insurance by talking to a trained and qualified insurance broker in your area. You can apply for critical illness insurance without any upfront cost or commitment to you.