CancerHacker

After two months of alternating between being out of the country and being sick, I am finally starting my reviews of select travel insurance policies. This week I am comparing the policies currently being offered by online travel giants Expedia.ca and Travelocity.ca (note the ".ca" part of the names -- this is specifically about the policies offered to Canadians). But first a few things to keep in mind... Travel Medical Insurance is intended for emergency care, not routine or planned care. Do not expect it to help you get care at your favourite US cancer centre. It doesn't work like that. They will shoot that claim down faster then a rabid squirrel. If your doctor tells you not to travel, then don't. If you have symptoms before you travel, don't wait to see a doctor. Being in denial about your situation is not an insurable condition. In general, medical coverage begins on the departure date and cancellation insurance coverage begins on the date of purcha...

Update (2013-03-06): I found a few nasty catches in a few policies that everyone needs to be aware of. Some policies will not cover you if you have ever had a bone marrow transplant. Some travel medical insurance policies will not cover you if you have ever been diagnosed with lung cancer or metastatic cancer. Some travel medical insurance policies will not cover you if you wind up having to have chemo between the date you purchased the policy and your date of departure. I came across one plan that requires you to inform the company if there is a change in a previously stable pre-existing condition before your date of departure. The company will then decide if they wish to continue to honour your insurance policy, whether that be for the travel medical portion of your policy (which makes some sense) or for the trip cancellation portion of your policy (seriously not cool). I will be writing a few reviews of policies in both Canada and the US, in order to give you all a feel f...

Partway through chemo my office sent me a big basket of chocolate bars. It was well-meaning. However, I had been on a health kick long enough by that point that I had gotten down to my ideal BMI, chocolate was rarely part of my diet, and I was feeling really proud of how well I was taking care of myself (all things considered). Unfortunately chocolate is a bit of an addiction for me and the basket of temptation was too much to resist, particularly since my energy levels were nil. If you are trying to figure out what to get a friend who is going through cancer treatment, have a look at my suggested gift items.

Like all things in life, (keeping track of everything for) chemo is much easier when you have an iPhone app to help you. Below are my favourite AppStore apps for keeping yourself organizized through treatment.

Sometimes it seems like everything that has happened was meant to be. Or rather, everything good that has occurred happened to prepare me for everything bad that was to come. "OK, Laura, breathe in... And out. Now big breath in and hold." This was the mantra spoken over the microphone six times a day for five weeks. While I lay there as still as possible with my nose pinched tightly by a clamp, holding a one-time-use disposable snorkel between my teeth, I followed the instructions given by the voice to a tee - desperately trying not to swallow in between breathes, as that would cause my ears to pop, leaving me with uncomfortable be-popped ears until the day's treatments were finished.

Now that I've gotten past the surgery part of my treatment, here is a list of a few things that I found invaluable.

Cancer almost inevitably results in having less moola to get by on. You're working less or not at all, you have hella medications to buy (some costing as much as $3000 a dose), you're constantly shuttling yourself back and forth from the hospital paying for transit or parking. In the absence of a Cancer Discount Card (which I would totally love to set up if there is anyone out there who wants to work on that with me) it helps to grab whatever free or almost free stuff you can. Aside from the well publicized ride services and free wigs (via the Canadian Cancer Society ) there are a number of other freebies available to us, some logical, some kind of random. Cottage Dreams Cottage Dreams provides one week at a cottage in Ontario to anyone who is currently not in active treatment. I imagine that taking Tamoxifen or getting your year of Herceptin infusions doesn't count, but I guess it's worth asking. If you are in treatment you can apply now for when you have fin...