Important information about the Cancer Care benefit
Please read the following information in conjunction with your Guide, Benefit Schedule and Certificate of Registration (or Certificate of Participation). Together these documents contain the terms and conditions of your Policy/Company Scheme, including the details of any exclusions, benefit limits and restrictions on hospital choice that may apply.
The Cancer Care benefit must be included as standard or selected as an optional extra under your Policy/Company Scheme. Any Shared Responsibility (co-payment)/excess or maximum annual limits apply to claims.
Please remember that all claims must be pre-authorised; WPA will contact the specialist in charge of your treatment to obtain a full treatment plan.
Any cancer treatment must be endorsed by your specialist's Multi-Disciplinary Team in accordance with best practice guidelines from NHS England or equivalent in the devolved nations.
Depending on the type of treatment prescribed by your specialist and any applicable terms and conditions, you have a choice of where you receive treatment: as a private in-patient; day-patient; out-patient; or at home. If your Policy/Company Scheme includes benefit for NHS Hospital Cash Benefit - Cancer then you may choose to have your treatment as an NHS patient and claim the cash benefit instead.
Learn more about the different types of cancer treatment available
Cancer support
Any of our members who are diagnosed with cancer will be supported by our Clinical Team, who are trained to manage a patient's care from both a medical and emotional perspective - making a real difference to the way an individual feels and providing much needed support during their cancer journey.
We have considerable experience in helping our members through challenging times and know that each individual requiring treatment will have differing needs. A diagnosis of cancer brings with it an understandable mixture of emotions and concerns for patients and their families. Our Clinical Team will be on hand to support you through your journey and will tailor their support to meet your individual needs. You can also find information in our Health insurance glossary to help you understand some of the terminology often used when you are making a claim.
There are different types of treatment for cancer and the information below may help to understand some of these:
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy uses radiation, usually x-rays, to treat cancer. You might have radiotherapy from inside the body (internal radiotherapy) or external radiotherapy (from outside the body).
You may have radiotherapy to try to cure cancer and to reduce the chance of cancer coming back. Sometimes radiotherapy is given to relieve symptoms. Radiotherapy may be given by itself or with other treatments, such as chemotherapy or surgery.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is drug treatment where medicine is used to kill cancer cells. There are many different types of chemotherapy medicine, but they all work in a similar way.
They stop cancer cells reproducing, which prevents them from growing and spreading in the body. It may be given to:
- cure cancer completely (curative chemotherapy)
- make other treatments more effective, for example, it can be combined with radiotherapy (chemoradiation) or used before surgery (neo-adjuvant chemotherapy)
- reduce the risk of the cancer coming back after radiotherapy or surgery (adjuvant chemotherapy)
- relieve symptoms if a cure is not possible (palliative chemotherapy)
Chemotherapy treatment may be given in different ways but most commonly via an intravenous tube, or as an oral medication.
Targeted Cancer Therapies
Targeted therapies are advanced chemotherapy drugs that find and attack cancer cells.
These drugs block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific molecules (also referred to as “molecular targets”) that are involved in the growth, progression and spread of cancer. There are many different types of targeted cancer therapies such as monoclonal antibodies, cancer growth blockers, drugs that block cancer blood vessel growth, PARP inhibitors and immunotherapy.
Targeted cancer therapies may be given in different ways but most commonly via an intravenous infusion, or as an oral medication.
Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)
Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) are medicines for human use that are based on genes, tissues or cells. They offer groundbreaking new opportunities for the treatment of cancer (and other non-cancer conditions).
Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products are either:
- A gene therapy medicinal product
- A somatic cell therapy medicinal product
- A tissue engineered product
Where your WPA policy/scheme includes benefit for ATMPs, we will only fund those drugs that appear on our list of approved ATMPs. It is important to check your policy/scheme offers cover for ATMPs and all treatment must be pre-authorised.
Important note: not all policies/schemes offer benefit for ATMPs.
Cancer claim examples
Please read the following information in conjunction with your Guide, Benefit Schedule and Certificate of Registration (or Certificate of Participation). Together these documents contain the terms and conditions of your Policy/Company Scheme, including the details of any exclusions, benefit limits and restrictions on hospital choice that may apply.
The Cancer Care benefit must be included as standard or selected as an optional extra under your Policy/Company Scheme. Any Shared Responsibility (co-payment)/excess or maximum annual limits apply to claims.
Please remember that all claims must be pre-authorised; WPA will contact the specialist in charge of your treatment to obtain a full treatment plan.
Any cancer treatment must be endorsed by your specialist's Multi-Disciplinary Team in accordance with best practice guidelines from NHS England or equivalent in the devolved nations.
Depending on the type of treatment prescribed by your specialist and any applicable terms and conditions, you have a choice of where you receive treatment: as a private in-patient; day-patient; out-patient; or at home. If your Policy/Company Scheme includes benefit for NHS Hospital Cash Benefit - Cancer then you may choose to have your treatment as an NHS patient and claim the cash benefit instead.
Please note that the example questions are set by industry standards and are not based on any individual customer scenario.