Health Insurance That Covers Retinoblastoma

A Buyers Guide To Health Insurance For Retinoblastoma

Posted by Greg Jones on January 24, 2020

If you've searched online for private medical insurance that covers retinoblastoma then you are most likely for looking for trusted UK based health insurance companies that can cover retinoblastoma.

Our advice when shopping around for health insurance that covers retinoblastoma is to speak to a insurance broker. Health insurance is incredibly complex and if you want absolute certainty that retinoblastoma is covered you should consult with a health insurance broker who can explain which policy providers will cover this medical condition and which will exclude it.

There are many advantages to using a insurance broker but the largest by far is that you're using their industry experience at no cost. They are paid by the insurer (Aviva or Bupa etc) rather than by you so it costs you no extra to use their services.

  • Do you live in many different areas? Some will give you a cheaper policy premium than offers. A broker will be able to advise whats best.
  • Do you have a hobby that may invalidate your insurance claim? A broker will know this critical information.
  • If you are a couple and one of you has claimed on your policy this year would it be cheaper to separate you both onto two different policies?
  • You've lean't you're at risk of developing a certain medical condition and want to know which policy provider offers the largest amount of cover for it. A broker will know this instantly saving you huge amounts of time and effort.

You can call around every health insurance provider on the market and ask if they cover retinoblastoma, however this will be a very time consuming process. Each insurer will ask for your medical history because its not normally a simple yes or not if a medical condition is covered or not.

Its far far quicker to speak to one health insurance broker which will know which policy providers on the market cover retinoblastoma and under what conditions they do or don't cover it.

Retinoblastoma Information

Retinoblastoma is a rare type of eye cancer that can affect young children (usually under 5 years of age).

If it's picked up early, retinoblastoma can often be successfully treated (children treated for retinoblastoma diagnosed at an early stage have a survival rate of more than 95%).

Retinoblastoma can either affect one or both eyes. If it affects both eyes, it's usually diagnosed before a child is 1 year old. If it affects one eye, it tends to be diagnosed later (between the ages of 2 and 3).

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Signs and symptoms of retinoblastoma include:

These symptoms may be caused by something other than retinoblastoma. However, you should get them checked by your GP as soon as possible.

It's unusual for retinoblastoma to progress unnoticed beyond the age of 5. Signs in older children include the eye appearing red, sore or swollen, and some loss of vision in the affected eye.

Retinoblastoma is cancer of the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive lining at the back of the eye.

During the early stages of a baby's development, retinal eye cells grow very quickly and then stop growing. However, in rare cases, one or more cells continue to grow and form a cancer called retinoblastoma.

In about 4 out of 10 (40%) of cases, retinoblastoma is caused by a faulty gene, which often affects both eyes (bilateral). The faulty gene may be inherited from a parent, or a change to the gene (mutation) may occur at an early stage of the child's development in the womb.

It's not known what causes the remaining 60% of retinoblastoma cases. In these cases, there's no faulty gene and only 1 eye is affected (unilateral).

Around 50 to 60 children are diagnosed with retinoblastoma in the UK each year.

Your GP will carry out a 'red reflex test' in a darkened room using an ophthalmoscope (a magnifying instrument with a light at one end).

When a light is shone into your child's eyes, your GP will see a red reflection if the retina is normal. If the reflection is white, it may be a sign of an eye condition such as cataracts, retinal detachment or retinoblastoma. In this case, your child will be urgently referred (within 2 weeks) to an eye specialist for further investigation.

The eye specialist (ophthalmologist) will examine your child's eyes, and they may carry out another red reflex test. Eye drops will be used to increase the size of your child's pupils, allowing a clear view of the retina at the back of the eye.