October is breast cancer awareness month.

It’s October and Breast Cancer Awareness month. During this month, many of us reflect on the people in our lives who have survived or passed on from this horrible disease. The truly sad thing is that breast cancer is just one of an ever growing list of critical illnesses that affects hundreds of thousands of Canadians each year.  According to resent statistics:

Canadian Cancer Statistics – Canadian Cancer Society
 

• Canada has the second highest rate of breast cancer in the world.
   
• 1 in 9 Canadian women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
   
• 1 in every 2.5 women and 1 in every 2.2 men will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime.
   
• 1 in 11 men and 1 in 18 women will develop lung cancer.
   
• Every 4 minutes a Canadian is diagnosed with cancer.
   
• The number of new cancer cases is projected to increase by 50% over the next 20 years.

Heart & Stroke Foundation – Canadian Statistics
 

• 1 in 4 Canadians will develop some form of heart disease
   
• 75,000 Canadians suffer a heart attack each year
   
• 1 in 2 heart attack victims is under the age 65

Of every 100 people who have a stroke
 

• 15 will die (15%)
   
• 10 will recover completely (10%)
   
• 25 will recover with a minor impairment or disability (25%)
   
• 40 will be left with a moderate to severe impairment (40%)
   
• 10 will be so severely disabled they require long-term care (10%)

How Critical Is Critical Illness Insurance?

Have you ever considered how your life would change if you were diagnosed with a life threatening illness? What if you were diagnosed with cancer tomorrow, or had a heart attack tonight? Where would the money come from to receive treatment not covered by OHIP? 

How would you take care of your household, kids and family expenses? How would you supplement your income because you are not able to work? 

Would you have to tap into your savings or your children’s education funds? Until diagnosed with an illness, people often don’t think of these things, but the reality is, you need to.

That is why critical illness insurance is so important. It can fill the gap between life and disability insurance. While disability policies cover lost employment income due to an accident or illness, Critical Illness insurance policies pay a lump-sum tax-free benefit when you’re diagnosed with a serious, life-altering illness or condition.

To learn more about Critical Illness insurance and how it works, feel free to book for a complementary consultation with one of our expert advisors.