Cancer survivors seeking mortgages and insurance are being “discriminated against” years after recovery, a study reveals.
Many of the 20 million survivors across Europe struggle to access financial services, including travel insurance.
This total includes “a conservative estimate” of more than half a million in the UK, where clients are required to declare a previous diagnosis despite having been declared “cancer-free”.
This means they are either cruelly denied services or forced to pay significantly higher premiums, often making holidays prohibitively expensive.
Study leader Professor Mark Lawler, from Queen’s University Belfast, said: ‘Our evidence of financial toxicity for cancer survivors is undeniable.
Study finds cancer survivors seeking mortgages and insurance are being “discriminated against” years after recovery
“It is shameful that a significant number of people continue to be economically discriminated against.”
While the current cost of living crisis is difficult for everyone, it is much worse for cancer survivors.
“We need to protect our patients living beyond cancer as a matter of urgency.”
Professor Lawler, writing in The Lancet Oncology, called for legislation to allow successfully treated cancer patients not to declare their previous diagnosis, so that their illness is essentially “forgotten”.
In January 2016, France became the first country to introduce the “right to be forgotten,” which specifies that cancer survivors after five years without a recurrence do not have to share medical information with a financial institution.
Seven other European countries have taken similar measures, but not the United Kingdom.
Earlier this month, cancer charity Maggie’s wrote to Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds highlighting the difficulties patients are facing.
A new study has found that cancer survivors are being “economically discriminated against”
It revealed how one cancer patient travelling to France was quoted up to £3,000 for travel insurance, while another couple were asked to pay £1,200 for a trip to Spain.
A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said: ‘We are in discussions with Maggie’s and other charities about their concerns.
‘Travel insurance is primarily used to cover emergency medical treatments which can be incredibly expensive while you’re abroad, so it’s vital to disclose any pre-existing conditions to ensure you have adequate protection.’