Critical illness cover: Louise’s cancer story.

In 2015, one of our Advisers, Louise Baughan, was diagnosed with colon cancer. This is Louise’s personal story of how critical illness insurance changed her life, aided her recovery and now allows her to spend quality time with her family.

How it started.

On a Saturday morning in early July 2015 I had a frightening rectal bleed, I fainted and my husband, called an ambulance which arrived promptly and decided I needed to go to A & E. I remember clearly we managed to get the paramedics in and me out again without waking our young son, who we had adopted only two years previously. 

A lovely doctor examined me and it was decided it couldn’t be anything more sinister than piles - horrid but not uncommon across the population.

My biggest question then was “can I go on holiday to France in a month?“ it was to be our first holiday abroad as a family. “Yes of course” was the answer, “just speak to your GP and get yourself booked-in to a follow-up clinic”. 

Following the medical advice.

I followed the advice and contacted our GP, and the referral was made. The next decision I made had an impact on how things would follow as I was sent a letter offering me the choice of going to our brand new hospital at Pembury or the Nuffield in Tunbridge Wells. I chose the Nuffield purely because it was on my school run route, so I could drop my son off and easily swing by for my appointment before heading into the office.

The appointment day came, which I was not looking forward to, but off I went. I was examined by a Consultant who agreed with the A & E assessment that it was nothing to worry about and I was to be sent home with a diet advice sheet. I had been very anxious about the consultation, however, he put me at ease very quickly. I explained to him that my Dad had died aged 72 following a Bowel Cancer diagnosis which he explained did not necessarily create an immediate risk for me but he would be happy to refer me for a colonoscopy to review my colon. Diaries were full for us both and the first date that worked was November 4th.

My initial diagnosis.

I thought nothing more of it and had not suffered any further incidents. So, I was approaching the colonoscopy on the basis that if I ever did develop any symptoms in the future, there would be an earlier scan that could be used to compare things too.

November 4th came, and I was dropped off at the Nuffield and my husband continued on to drop our son at school. The procedure was done under sedation without incident and I was having a cup of tea when the Consultant came into my room and sat down. I think that was the moment I knew something was up. I have watched enough episodes of ER to know Doctors don’t sit down to give you good news…

“I have watched enough episodes of ER to know Doctors don’t sit down to give you good news…”

He explained he had identified a tumour on my colon and taken a biopsy that was being sent off for testing, but in his opinion and experience, it was cancerous. He was at pains however to explain that it was one that he believed could be successfully removed with surgery. I was still in the NHS service at this point, which had been great, but I told him I was fortunate to have Private Medical cover in place and as we were already at the Nuffield he was able to arrange a referral the same day to a private Consultant.

Taking the next step.

The next 2 weeks were a blur, following the colonoscopy I had a CT scan, and a further colonoscopy which is when I received my first (very unexpected!) and only tattoo - they tattoo the colon from the inside so that when they perform keyhole surgery (known as ‘Laparoscopy’) from the outside they can see where to cut. It’s amazing really.

I also had consultations with specialist nurses regarding the possible management of a colostomy bag. The Consultant had explained he would only know during surgery whether one would be needed. Amongst all of this, I was tying up loose ends at AV Trinity as we didn’t know how long I would be off work. Karen, the founder of AV Trinity, was amazing. She was suffering medically herself at the time, and most of us did not know how serious things were for her at that time. I remember her being extremely supportive and upbeat, and when I reflect on this now, that really was incredible when she was facing her own very real health issues (which sadly later resulted in her death).

It was my son’s 7th birthday on November 20th and we had planned a Disco Party on the Saturday, so when I was first offered Monday 16th for my surgery I said no. We celebrated his birthday, and the party was a great success.

My surgery.

Monday 23rd was the date of my surgery and my second frightening moment came when the anaesthetist explained I should not be worried if I woke up post-surgery in intensive care with tubes in my neck. I had a little cry then but made it clear to her it was vital I was somewhere that my son could visit me after surgery. Following his adoption, we had undergone training and family therapy, and so we knew how important it was that he see me alive. My son’s early life trauma meant he had taken a long time to begin to trust both my husband and me, our attachment was still fragile in 2015. As a therapist commented at the time, “he has just begun to believe you are his protector, and it will throw him to see you wounded”.

Fortunately, all went according to plan and although longer than expected, the surgery was successful - no colostomy bag needed and I was back in my private room the same day. My husband was incredible that week as he was caring for our son, keeping his work ticking over and supporting me. I know I gave the nurses a bit of a hard time as it took a little while to get the pain management in balance, but I am told they understand – thank goodness. 

Louise Morris (now our Managing Director) visited me when I was still in hospital and it was her that asked while chatting: “You have got Critical Illness cover haven’t you?” “Yes,” I replied, “But I hadn’t looked into it yet”. I had decided I was going to believe all would be well until told otherwise, so saw no need to at that point.

Critical illness insurance & my recovery.

I have worked in financial services all my life and have always benefited from Group Life Cover (provided through my various employers), which many people do not have. It was when I was working at the Halifax and we bought our home together that I arranged a combined life insurance and critical illness policy for us both. It was expensive, but it was always part of our budgeting for our mortgage. In South Africa (where I am from originally), a colleague of mine had benefited from a payout when she was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and I always remember the difference it made to her life.

My recovery was textbook and just 5 days later, I left hospital to recuperate at home. A month after the first colonoscopy on December 4th, I received the results from the biopsies taken during the surgery. The Consultant had successfully removed the malignant tumour and no further treatment, neither radio nor chemotherapy would be needed. This was a great day.

I improved steadily and was well enough to go to my son’s school Christmas Nativity and join the AV Trinity team Christmas lunch. All felt good and I so I read my critical illness policy wording carefully and decided to submit a claim. Even at that point, my husband was not confident it would pay out; I was planning to return to work in January and was doing so well – how “would it pay?” was his thought.

Well, the devil is absolutely in the detail of all contracts, but on January 4th - a month after my all clear, and 2 months after the bad news day - I was notified that my claim was successful.

The payout & long-term benefits.

I received a total of £256,000 from my critical illness policy - a life-changing amount of money, and so it was for me. We immediately paid off what we could without redemption fees against the mortgage. We then set the balance aside for when the fixed term on our mortgage came to an end.

We also used some of the money to install a new bathroom, and we planned a trip to Cape Town to visit family.

The long-term benefit for us has been that I have been able to reduce my working hours so that I can support my son more actively. As a family, we have been able to enjoy more family holidays both in the UK and aboard and we have been able to self-fund the family and occupational therapy that is so hard to access via the NHS for our son.

Critical Illness Cover can be expensive when compared to life insurance on its own. But the reason for this is simple - it is because we are more likely to be affected by a critical illness condition. My husband and I were fortunate to be able to afford to fully protect our mortgage with a combined life insurance and critical illness policy, but to those who cannot afford to do this, I impress upon you that even if you cannot afford to be fully protected, even taking out a small amount of cover can make a huge difference.

We are so used to paying for things like car or boiler insurance, but sometimes we can’t get our heads around life insurance which includes Income Protection and Critical Illness as it’s easy to think “it will never happen to me…”. But as I know only too well, sometimes it does.

What’s next?

Louise’s story is compelling and shows that having the right cover in place can turn a dreadful situation in something slightly more bearable. By having the right level of critical illness insurance, Louise and her family could focus on recovery, without having to worry about money. You cannot know what’s around the corner for your health, but you can make sure you and your loved ones are prepared financially.

You can get in touch with us if you would like to speak with one of our experienced Protection Advisers or visit our page with more information on family protection. The initial chat is on us, and we can speak with you on the telephone, video conference or in the office (when Coronavirus restrictions are not in place).

This article offers information about financial planning and should not be taken as personal advice.