Bowel Cancer Changed My Life

Earlier this year 39-year-old Craig, felt dizzy and fell off a ladder while cleaning his windows, fracturing his foot.

His partner Bel took him to the hospital where they treated the fracture. Following a series of questions about Craig’s symptoms recently, the consultant decided to run some precautionary tests.

Craig was a little nervous with all the blood tests and invasive scans, as he believed they were unnecessary. The couple were invited to meet with a consultant and were devastated with being told that Craig had Bowel Cancer.

They left the meeting with the realisation they had to quickly prepare themselves for the challenging journey ahead.

Craig was informed that he would need surgery within weeks and may also require chemotherapy. He would be unable to work for a considerable length of time.

Initially, when a diagnosis like this is given, it triggers so many worries; how will I work? What about my mortgage and bills? What happens to my loved ones if surgery is unsuccessful? This is to name a few things that may run through a patient’s mind.

Craig and Bel had arranged their mortgage and life covers last year, including individual Income Protection and Critical Illness covers. They felt so young to be thinking about it when meeting with one of our advisers but how thankful they were when it paid out!

Initially, Bel called our Advisor to enquire about a payment holiday on the mortgage. The Advisor asked about the diagnosis and recommended that they make a claim on their protection policies. All the claims forms were submitted on that day.

Craig received a monthly income from the insurer as soon as the deferred period of 13 weeks passed. This meant that he could continue paying his monthly bills and not have any financial worries.

Additionally, the insurance company provided access to counselling sessions that he needed and was grateful for.

The Critical Illness policy also paid out immediately, which gave them extra financial security.

Craig has been able to focus on his health and has completed most of his treatments. He is determined to continue living his life to the full and intends to go back to work as soon as he can. The couple were so relieved and grateful that they had taken the advice given to them.

This story could have had a very different outcome, should Craig and Bel like many others decided not to take any life insurance.

Many people believe that they would never die or be sick, but the reality is that most of us know someone who has had a critical illness such as cancer.

More and more people are being diagnosed with various illnesses at a young age, are you and your family protected?

Please note, that the case study is based on a real-life scenario, but names have been changed due to client confidentiality.

Published Feb 2021.

It is important to take professional advice before making any decision relating to your personal finances. Information within this case study is based on our current understanding and can be subject to change without notice and the accuracy and completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed. It does not provide individual tailored advice and is for information purposes only.