Cancer

Treatment and Payment Option for Pre-Existing Cancer

An uncontrolled growth of living cells is characterized as Cancer. Medical science is able to distinguish hundred different forms of cancer till now and each is distinguished based on the types of cells that are initially affected. In 2007 alone, cancer claimed the lives of around 7.6 million people around the globe.

The damaged cells multiply uncontrollably in the body and form masses or lumps of tissues called tumors (except in Leukemia where abnormal cell division in the blood stream prohibits normal blood function). Tumors release hormones that alter normal body functions or grow and interfere with the nervous, digestive, and circulatory systems.

A tumor turns more dangerous and malignant when two things occur:

• The cancerous cell starts to destroy healthy tissues as it manages to move throughout the body using the lymph or blood system. This process is termed as invasion.
• These cells multiply and grow, producing new blood vessels to feed them, in a process known as angiogenesis.

What causes cancer?

Environmental factors have been attributed as the primary cause for cancer. As per cancer researchers, environmental factors include not just pollution but anything that is not genetic. Common contributors to cancer death include diet and obesity (30-35%), tobacco (25-30%), infections (15-20%), lack of physical activity, stress, radiations and pollutants.

It is almost impossible to determine the exact cause for a cancer in any individual, as there are multiple reasons behind most cancer. For example a heavy tobacco user has a probable chance of developing lung cancer, but since lung cancer can also be caused due to radiation or air pollution, there is little chance of ascertaining cancer.

Treatment for Cancer

The most common type of treatment is through chemotherapy, surgery, or radiation therapy, but there are many other types. Let us take a look at some of the treatment options, what one can expect in each treatment method and the effect it has on a person.

• Surgery – used to diagnose, treat and in some cases even prevent cancer from happening. Most people have to go under the knife at some point during cancer treatment. In the majority of cases it offers the greatest chance of survival, particularly if the cancer has not affected other parts of the body.
• Chemotherapy – In this medicines or drugs are used to treat cancer. It can be a daunting prospect, but fears get eliminated as one gets to know about how chemotherapy works, and what one can expect of it. The patient has better control over cancer treatment with this process.
• Radiation Therapy – makes use of radiowaves or high energy particles to damage or destroy cancer cells. It is the most common method used in cancer treatment. It is used either with other forms of treatment or by itself.
• Targeted Therapy – This is a newer type of cancer treatment which makes use of substances and drugs to identify cancer cells more precisely and attack them. In this therapy there is little effect on other cells that are functioning normally. It is increasingly gaining importance as this method is more precise.
• Hyperthermia – This early form of cancer treatment has mixed results, where cancer is treated by using heat. More recently with newer tools it is possible to deliver heat more precisely, and it is being studied to treat many types of cancer.

Paying for Treatment

To be diagnosed with cancer and uninsured can be a double blow for many people without an all encompassing cancer-covering insurance policy. The treatment procedure is normally time consuming and costly, and many wonder how they will bear the expenditure. There are several options available to cancer patients to ease the burden.

Talk to your oncologist who can advice some payment options in case you are not insured. Try to get a referral of a cancer treatment center based in hospital. Many hospitals, in accordance with their mission, treat patient regardless of their capability to pay. The treatment center or the hospital can recommend a social worker, locally or nationally, that can provide helpful resources.

Guaranteed Health Insurance and Pre-Existing Cancer

Everyone wants to avoid financial burden and this is also the case with Insurance companies who are not willing to provide coverage to people with pre-existing cancer. Still there are a few insurance companies who think otherwise, and stretch out a helping hand to cancer patients, irrespective of their pre-existing condition.

An applicant is not required to undergo a medical examination to enroll in guaranteed health insurance; the insurance company is not interested in knowing the medical history of the applicant. As per these insurance companies as long as a person can answer “yes” or “no” to a few simple questions, they qualify for a life insurance.

Beneficiaries get the full benefit of guaranteed issue life insurance after two years of insurance, in case the insured person dies within a specified amount of time. Guaranteed insurance plans are permanent in nature and the coverage is effective as long as the premium is paid. The insured person can use the cash value of the policy for other emergency expenses while living.

HIPAA and Cancer

HIPAA protects thousands of Americans and their loved ones who have pre-existing conditions or are facing trouble in getting insurance coverage because of a pre-existing condition. As per HIPAA a person can be excluded from coverage under group health plans on the basis that they developed cancer.

Moreover, the group plan and issuers cannot ask for a higher contribution or premium based on the health status related factors. Such a person cannot be asked to pass a physical exam in order to be eligible for group health plan coverage.

Guaranteed medical health insurance plans offer coverage even if a person is diagnosed as diabetic, on kidney dialysis, HIV positive or is suffering from any other pre-existing medical condition. These plans may put the applicant on a waiting period but it is the best option available to people who would otherwise go uninsured.