Am young and my family has no history of cancer; should I buy health insurance?

Dear Doc,

I am 25 years old and have been considering purchasing health insurance. There is no history of cancer in my family and I am young. I am wondering if I am being too cautious!{{more}}

Luke

Dear Luke,

The best time to purchase insurance is when you are young, or as young as possible. Generally, the younger you are the less will be your cost and better your past medical history. The insurer would consider that a younger person is generally healthier and thus is a better risk. If you have insurance and develop cancer, the insurer has to fulfill your insurance terms, BUT if you wait longer and develop cancer, it will be almost impossible to get insurance.

Even without a family history of cancer, it does not make you invincible. Genetics is only one aspect of the risks involved in developing cancer and thus it does not guarantee that you would be cancer free all your life. There is a significant role to play by our lifestyle, including our diet and environmental exposure, which can be different to our family.

Purchasing health insurance as early as possible is a good investment when one realizes the significant cost of cancer treatment. In our very own situation we see ourselves having to travel for consultations with oncologists (cancer specialists) for surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. The costs of the latter can be significant and many would find it impossible to makes those payments from personal savings.

Doc

SVG Cancer Society,

P.O. Box 709, Kingstown.

Email: svgsocietycancer@gmail.com

Phone: 526-7036