Testicular cancer has distinctly become the most common type of cancer amongst young men in their 20s and 30s. It has been defined as the ‘young man’s disease’ by the world’s foremost authority on testicular cancer, Dr Lawrence Einhorn, the Livestrong Foundation Professor of Oncology and Professor of Medicine at IU School of Medicine.
With any cancer, the best chance you have for effective treatment is to catch it early. So, what can you do to catch testicular cancer early?
If you feel pain in the testes, or fullness, a mass or hardness, you shouldn’t assume that it is just an infection or nothing of consequence. It should be checked out by a doctor who will determine whether or not it is anything serious. Patients typically can’t do their own physical examination and make this diagnosis says, Dr Lawrence Einhorn.
With any cancer, the best chance you have for effective treatment is to catch it early. So, what can you do to catch testicular cancer early?
If you feel pain in the testes, or fullness, a mass or hardness, you shouldn’t assume that it is just an infection or nothing of consequence. It should be checked out by a doctor who will determine whether or not it is anything serious. Patients typically can’t do their own physical examination and make this diagnosis says, Dr Lawrence Einhorn.
What is the outlook for testicular cancer patients?
As is true with many cancers, the more extensive the disease, the harder it is to cure. However, testicular cancer is unique among all malignancies as it has a very high cure rate. If we take a look at all testicular cancer patients who have metastatic disease that requires chemotherapy, about 70% will be cured with their initial chemotherapy. Of the remaining 30% not cured during the initial chemotherapy, about half of those will be cured with subsequent chemotherapy. Therefore, about 80-85% of patients will be cured.
How will insurers view testicular cancer?
If you have had testicular cancer, many factors will determine if you can get life insurance. As Protection Advisers, we would need the following questions answered in order to complete an assessment with all the insurers in the market:
- When were you diagnosed?
- At what stage was your testicular cancer when diagnosed?
- Did it spread to the lymph nodes?
- What treatment have you received? For example, surgery or chemotherapy.
- Are you still undergoing treatment or what date did the treatment come to an end?
- If you have been fully discharged with no further follow-up, how long have you been in the all-clear stage for?
- Do you have any medical reports to-hand, which detail your diagnosis?
At Henry Dannell, not only are we experts in mortgages, but we also specialise in life insurance and understand the complexities involved with finding the right insurance solutions when faced with medical conditions. Once we have your complete medical history relating to your cancer diagnosis, we will package your information and negotiate terms across the whole insurance market, so that we can obtain the best possible solution for you.
The more information you can provide, the better your chances will be for obtaining an accurate assessment of indicative costs before you apply. If you have medical letters from your specialist, we can use these to put your cover in place more quickly.
The Henry Dannell Difference
Let’s take a look at our client, Mr N, who had taken out a large mortgage with us in 2020 and was concerned as he thought he wouldn’t be able to get life insurance, due to having cancer. In our initial call, Mr N was able to supply us with detailed information, including diagnosis letters.
Mr N was diagnosed 7 years ago with a Stage 2B non-seminomatous germ cell tumour of the left testis, which measured 2.8cm in size, with no spread of cancer to other parts of the body or lymph nodes. The client’s treatment was the removal of the left testicle, followed by 3 months of chemotherapy. After 5 years, 2 years prior to the application, the client was fully discharged from follow-up and completely clear of cancer.
With Mr N, every single insurer in the market was happy to offer the cover at standard rates, subject to non-medical requirements. For this case, those requirements were a nurse screening, a full blood profile and a cotinine test. As Mr N had kept all of his medical letters, the insurer waived the requirement for a specialist report and Mr N had cover in place within 1 week of applying.
Mr N was elated and surprised that he was able to get cover at all – an excellent result and a happy client.
In this instance, it had been a couple of years since Mr N had received the all-clear. However, in some cases, there is a chance that premiums will be higher if the all-clear was given more recently or if the stage of the cancer was more advanced.
The lesson here is, with any cancer, the further away you are from having had cancer, the better your chances of securing insurance.
Every case we deal with is always unique and requires specialist knowledge and expertise to ensure you receive the right advice and gain access to the best insurer that will support you in your journey.
Please note: These plans have no cash in value at any time and will cease at the end of the term. If premiums are not maintained, then cover will lapse. These plans have no cash in value at any time and will cease at the end of the term. If premiums are not maintained, then cover will lapse.
