If you've searched online for private medical insurance that covers soft tissue sarcomas then you are most likely for looking for trusted UK based health insurance providers that will cover your soft tissue sarcomas.
Our advice when shopping around for private medical insurance that covers soft tissue sarcomas is to speak to a insurance broker. Health insurance is incredibly complicated and if you want absolute certainty that soft tissue sarcomas is covered you should talk with a health insurance broker who can explain which policy providers will cover this medical condition and which will not.
There are many advantages to using a broker but the largest by far is that you're using their insurance training 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 reside in many different areas? Some will give you a lower policy premium than offers. A insurance 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 insurance policy this year would it be cheaper to separate you both onto two different policies?
- You've developed a certain condition and want to know which policy provider offers the largest amount of cover for it. A broker will know this instantly saving you so much time and effort.
You can call around every health insurance provider on the market and ask if they cover soft tissue sarcomas, 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 medical insurance broker which will know which policy providers on the market cover soft tissue sarcomas and under what conditions they do or don't cover it.
Soft Tissue Sarcomas Information
Soft tissue sarcomas are a group of rare cancers affecting the tissues that connect, support and surround other body structures and organs.
Tissues that can be affected by soft tissue sarcomas include fat, muscle, blood vessels, deep skin tissues, tendons and ligaments.
Soft tissue sarcomas can develop in almost any part of the body, including the legs, arms and the trunk (torso).
There are many different types of soft tissue sarcoma, depending on where in the body they are located. For example:
Soft tissue sarcomas account for around 1 in every 100 cancers diagnosed in the UK. More than 3,000 new cases are diagnosed every year.
Cancer develops when cells multiply uncontrollably, forming tumours.
In the vast majority of soft tissue sarcomas it's unclear what causes this to happen but there are a number of factors known to increase the risk, including:
One particular type of soft tissue sarcoma called Kaposi’s sarcoma – which develops in skin cells – is caused by a virus known as the human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) infecting someone with a weakened immune system (such as people with HIV).
As soft tissue sarcomas can develop in most parts of the body, they can cause a wide range of symptoms.
For example, a tumour near the stomach may cause abdominal (tummy) pain, a feeling of fullness and constipation, whereas a tumour near the lungs may cause a cough or breathlessness.
There are often no obvious symptoms in the early stages of soft tissue sarcomas, although you may notice a soft, painless lump under your skin or deeper, that can't easily be moved around and gets bigger over time.
You should see your GP if you have a worrying lump or any other troublesome symptoms. A lump the size of a golf ball or larger should be regarded as suspicious and needs to be investigated urgently.
Although it is much more likely you have a benign (non-cancerous) condition, it is important to get your symptoms checked out.
If your GP feels there is a possibility you do have cancer, they will refer you for a number of hospital tests to confirm whether you have a soft tissue sarcoma.
In 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidelines to help GPs recognise the signs and symptoms of soft tissue sarcoma and refer people for the right tests faster. To find out if you should be referred for further tests for suspected soft tissue sarcoma, read the NICE 2015 guidelines on Suspected Cancer: Recognition and Referral.