Physiotherapy for Breast Cancer

As covered by Health Insurance News, medical insurance for cancer is varied. New evidence about a secondary complication of breast cancer and how easy it is to treat it highlights the gap that exists in the cancer health insurance market.

A report published in the British Medical Journal says that researchers in Madrid have found that early physiotherapy after breast cancer treatment helps women to avoid lymphodoedema.

Secondary lymphodoedema occurs when there has been damage to the lymphatic system either during surgery or radiotherapy. Lymph nodes are routinely removed by doctors if cancer cells have been found in the lymphatic system as this reduces reucurrence of breast cancer. However damage to lyphatic system around the underarm area means that fluid cannot be drained away effectively. Fluid accumulates and the arm can swell. This can become very uncomfortable and some women can suffer depression from the emotional aspects of their changed physique. The condition can be very difficult to treat once it sets in.

Early physiotherapy was found to help. In the Madrid study women where split into two groups. One group received educational information on how to care for themselves and prevent infection and the other group had physiotherapy in the form of manual lymph drainage, massage of scar tissue, and shoulder exercises.

16% of women developed secondary lymphoedema but only 7% of the women who received physiotherapy developed it compared to 25% of the women who only received educational information.

In the cancer health insurance sector definitions are vague. Normally when a patient moves into the chronic phase of an illness then they are no longer covered by their medical insurance company. Furthermore, once a cancer has been removed treatments designed for prevention are not covered. For example, Tamoxifen, which helps to prevent breast cancer, is not covered by private medical insurance.

AXA PPP Healthcare said that physiotherapy for breast cancer patients would be covered if a policy included an outpatient benefit only.

Principal clinical consultant at Aviva UK Health, Dr Doug Wright, said:

'Aviva keeps abreast of medical developments and research findings and has read the BMJ report with interest. Under our current terms, we do not pay for preventative treatment, we do however provide benefit for one short-term block manual lymphatic drainage in acute conditions of lymphoedema if this is recommended by the treating specialist.'

Medical insurance company, PruHealth offer a comprehensive policy which covers individuals for cancer all the way through to palliative care should this become necessary.