Cancer is one of the Top Killers Here's how to Stay Safe from It


Did you know that almost 2.5 million people are suffering from cancer in India and that close to 8 lakh new cases are added on a per year basis? Did you know that an individual is at high risk of suffering from cancer over 55 years of age? Did you know the most common type of cancer in women is breast and cervix cancer while in men it is prostate, colon, and lung? The Indian Council of Medical Research claims almost 38 lakh people in India have been found suffering from cancer in 2012-14.

Who Is at The Risk of Cancer?

Majority of us do not relate to the threat of this lifestyle disease, called cancer, presuming that we are in good health and cannot develop cancer cells. It is not as simple as it may sound.

Consider the fact; cancer has become a lifestyle disease today because of many common reasons including consumption of alcohol and tobacco, lack of any physical activity or exercising, being overweight or suffering from obesity due to consumption of junk and fried food and so on. Even the rising levels of air pollution has exposed us to the risk of suffering from specific cancer types, lung cancer being one example. Other lifestyle changes such as high-stress levels, late menopause, and increasing maternal age add to the risk of developing cancer cells.

How to Prevent the Risk of Cancer?

The optimum way of seeking prevention from cancer is to avoid the many risks associated with it or to manage your lifestyle by making specific changes. Precautions against cancer include:

  • No use of tobacco
  • Limit your alcohol intake
  • Take regular sleep
  • Eating nutritious and healthy food
  • Exercise regularly, and keep a check on your weight
  • Planning pregnancy in time
  • Going for proper health diagnosis such as pap smear and mammography (for breast cancer screening), CT scan for people who smoke.

How to Treat Cancer?

Adding to the woes is the fact of high medical inflation, in short, the rising cost of medical treatment. On one side we have accessibility to the most technically advanced medical equipment for cancer treatment, lifecare post-cancer treatment and so on. It only means a real affair of things where clinical care improves our chances of survival manifold. However, on the other side of the steep cost of medical treatment such as cancer also means that we need to prepare in advance to be able to avail the clinical facilities available.

Critical illness such as cancer can make a massive dent in our finances. The total cost of treating certain types of cancer can be up to 40 lakhs in some cases. Depending upon the exact stage of the diagnosis of the cancer type, your expenses associated with managing the risk to life can differ. For example, if you diagnose cancer at an early stage (also called the minor stage), the chance of curing it is higher. Therefore, the need to go for regular screenings for an early diagnosis.

How to Approach Cancer Treatment?

Fortunately, there are many cancer insurance policies available online today to help manage the vast financial risks associated with the disease. A cancer protection plan will assist you by providing maximum insurance coverage, in short, by giving you an optimum lumpsum amount at the time of diagnosis of cancer.

Suppose, an individual covered under a cancer insurance plan of total coverage of Rs 40 lakh for 20 years falls prey to the disease at the age of 70 years, then he/she is entitled to a certain percentage of that Rs 40 lakhs if the cancer is at the minor stage. The insurer will pay the total sum insured, which is an equivalent of 40 lakh, when cancer is at the third stage or the final stage. In case of the minor stage diagnosis, the same individual need not pay the premium for next three years and can continue with the policy to complete the insurance term. Only, if later, the individual suffers from the final stage of cancer, then the total sum insured can be retrieved.

The significant benefits of a cancer insurance policy are:

  • Prudent financial management
  • Low annual premium instead of the total sum insured
  • Flexibility to pay the premium after diagnosis of an early stage cancer
  • Income benefit in case of specific plans, in which certain amount of the total sum insured is paid in monthly income instalments
  • Options to buy the plan to avail an insurance cover up to 80 years of age
  • Minimum policy term of 8 years
  • Options to buy a policy from 18 years to 65 years of age
  • Easy claim settlement