3 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Cancer

The mere mention of cancer strikes fear into the hearts of many with us involuntarily imagining the worst scenarios. However, with cancer as one of the most common diseases and top causes of death, this fear towards cancer is not unfounded.¹ According to a new study, it was found that 1 in 2 people will develop cancer at some stage in life thus reflecting the alarmingly high cancer rates.² As such, it is therefore important that we understand cancer so as to ensure that we are prepared and would have sufficient coverage should we be unfortunately diagnosed with cancer.

(See "The Secret Behind Avoiding Expensive Medical Bills")

#1 The statistics

Did you know that everyday 37 people are diagnosed with cancer with 16 deaths resulting from it?³ With two gender specific cancers (breast and prostate cancer) on the rise in Singapore, it is imperative that Singaporeans are aware and educated about these risks.⁴

For example, breast cancer is the most common cancer among females in Singapore with it also the top cause of mortality for females. With the majority of these cancer patients being between the age of 45 to 64, this shows that we have a higher chance of developing cancer as we age. On the other hand, while males are likely to develop prostate cancer, it is not one of the top causes of mortality in Singapore with males more susceptible to lung and colo-rectum cancer.⁵

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#2 What causes cancer?

With prevention better than cure, knowing what causes cancer may then help us to lower our chances of getting it. For starters, smokers have a higher risk of getting cancer⁶ with them subjected to the increased risk of 16 different types of cancer.⁷ Additionally, they are also more prone to lung cancer with over 90 per cent of lung cancer cases a result of smoking.⁸ Hence, with lung cancer being one of the most common types of cancer, it is important that we take precautions against it.

Developing cancer can also be attributed to factors such as genetics, alcohol consumption, exposure to ultraviolet rays and radiation and our dietary and lifestyle habits.⁹ For example, cutting down on genetically modified food, canned items and refined or processed products could potentially reduce your risk of cancer by half.¹⁰ This is because such food items are laden with chemicals that could prove to be detrimental to your body. As such, changing your dietary and other lifestyle habits could then potentially reduce your risk of cancer.

(See "The Devastating Truth About Life After You're Gone")

#3 Chances of recurrence

One of the protection gaps in Singapore is the lack of coverage for those previously diagnosed with a critical illness. This is because critical illness patients are more likely to be diagnosed with another critical illness in their lifetime but yet often find themselves unable to buy another policy after the first diagnosis.¹¹ Notably, while cancer rates in Singapore are increasing, the number of survivors are also growing.¹² This is because while previous cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy have proved effective in helping cancer patients to fight the illness, it however also puts them at an increased risk of another cancer.¹³ Therefore, when purchasing critical illness insurance, consider obtaining coverage for a second critical illness.

(See "3 Tips To Get The Most Out Of Your Health Insurance")

#4 Planning your coverage

It is important to note that critical illness policies are categorised into coverage for early stage and advanced stage critical illnesses. While regular critical illness policies only provides pay-outs at a certain stage of the illness, early stage critical illness policies offers pay-outs from the first diagnosis. This allows the insured to receive a sum to help him/her tide through the treatment costs in the early stage as well as to supplement income lost during the recovery period. Therefore, when determining the coverage levels for your policy, it is important to also consider when pay-outs would commence and if these terms are suitable for you.

(See "Can You Survive A $300,000 Medical Bill?")

How FSMOne can help you get on track

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^{1Source: https://www.cancervic.org.au/tell_your_cancer_story/cancer-strikes-fear.html}

^{2Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288916.php}

^{3Source: https://www.singaporecancersociety.org.sg/images/publications/educational-resources/posters-cancer-education-1.pdf}

^{4Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/breast-prostate-cancers-rising-sharply-in-spore}

^{5Source: https://www.nrdo.gov.sg/docs/librariesprovider3/default-document-library/cancer-trends-2010-2014_interim-annual-report_final-%28public%29.pdf?sfvrsn=0}

^{6Source: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/tobacco/cessation-fact-sheet}

^{7Source: https://makesmokinghistory.org.au/why-should-i-quit/smoking-and-physical-health}

^{8Source: https://www.healthxchange.sg/cancer/lung-cancer/cigarette-smoking-main-cause-lung-cancer}

^{9Source: http://www.health24.com/Medical/Cancer/Triggers-and-prevention/5-everyday-things-you-didnt-know-could-cause-cancer-20171003-2}

^{10Source: https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/cancer-causing-foods-2/}

^{11Source: https://www.aia.com.sg/content/dam/sg/en/docs/press-releases/2015/aia-infographic-bridging-the-gaps-in-critical-illness-protection-in-Singapore.pdf}

^{12Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/more-in-singapore-getting-cancer-but-survival-rates-also-up}

^{13Source: https://www.singaporecancersociety.org.sg/learn-about-cancer/cancer-basics/what-causes-cancer.html}

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