Brain Tumour Cover in Health Insurance

The brain is among the most studied organs of the human body, yet there is a lot we do not know about it. It is often very difficult to diagnose problems in the human brain. People suffering from brain-related ailments often have to endure long and painful procedures just to get a confirmed diagnosis, and from there starts another difficult road towards treatment. But with medical advancement, it is possible to completely treat almost all brain diseases. Even brain tumours.

Today with MRIs and CT scans, it has become much easier to peek into the human brain and look for any defects. Medical experts may find a tumour to be the cause of trouble. Next, they must decide whether they can shrink it with medication or if a more invasive procedure is required. But even if there are ways to scan the brain and make diagnoses, the processes can cost quite a lot, falling heavy on the average Indian.

If the cost of brain tumour treatments worries you, then there is a reliable solution to your problem. With good health insurance, you will not have to worry about the cost of your brain tumour treatment or even brain tumour surgery. Your medical insurance plan will be with you right through your journey. But to enjoy the benefits of health insurance, it is always better for you to buy a medical insurance plan early on.

You can trust Tata AIG’s health insurance if you want a reliable partner for your brain tumour treatment. Our medical insurance plans can be customised as per your needs without you having to break your bank. At Tata AIG, the needs of our customers come first, and that reflects in our plans and policies. We recommend you browse through the many plans available with us and choose the health insurance plan which is the right fit for you.

After understanding how we can secure our treatment, let us look deeper into the meaning of a brain tumour.

An unusual mass of cells growing inside or outside your brain is called a brain tumour. Central nervous system (CNS) tumours are the collective term for spinal and brain tumours. There are benign tumours (non-cancerous) and malignant brain tumours (cancerous). While some tumours enlarge swiftly, others do so slowly.

Of all brain tumours, only around one-third are malignant. However, regardless of if they are cancerous or not, brain tumours can affect your well-being and the way your brain functions if they enlarge to the point where they strain on nearby nerves, capillaries, and tissue.

Now that we have better understood the meaning of a brain tumour let us delve into the different brain tumour types.

An intracranial tumour, also referred to as a brain tumour, is an irregular mass of tissue where cells grow and reproduce rapidly, appearing unaffected by the systems that regulate normal cells. Although there are more than 150 known brain tumour types, primary and metastatic are the two basic classifications.

Primary Brain Tumours- Primary brain tumours develop from the brain's tissues or its immediate environs. Glial (consisting of glial cells) and non-glial (formed on or in the elements of the brain, involving nerves, capillaries, and glands) primary tumours are classified as benign brain tumours or malignant brain tumours. When a primary brain tumour is diagnosed, a biopsy is performed to determine if the tumour is benign or malignant.

Metastatic Brain Tumour- Tumours that develop in other body parts, like the breast or liver, and spread to the brain typically through the circulation are referred to as metastatic brain tumours. Metastatic tumours are almost always considered to be cancerous. Approximately 150,000 people per year, or close to one in four people living with cancer, have brain metastases. Lung cancer patients are up to 40% more likely to develop metastatic brain tumours. The diagnoses for such patients are often grim, and brain tumour surgery is opted for whenever possible.

The key to metastatic brain tumour treatment is catching the illness early on and dealing with it aggressively.

Brain tumour causes usually differ depending on the kind of tumour and its exact location. But there are also some generalised brain tumour causes. We will be discussing both types in detail below.

Primary brain tumours can develop in the brain or tissues near it, like the pituitary gland, pineal gland, optic nerves, or the meninges, which envelop the brain.

Primary brain tumours start whenever the DNA of healthy cells undergoes modifications (mutations). The commands that inform a cell everything to do are encoded in its DNA. When normal cells perish, the mutations instruct the cells to proliferate and divide quickly and keep on surviving. A tumour is the consequence of this mutation.

Primary brain tumours in adults are significantly less frequent than secondary brain tumours, which develop when cancer travels from another body part to the brain.

Secondary (metastatic) brain tumours are tumours that develop when cancer progresses (metastasises) to the brain from another part of the body. People with a prior history of cancer are more likely to develop secondary brain tumours. A brain tumour spread to other parts of your body could be the earliest indication of cancer. Secondary brain tumours in adulthood are much more prevalent than primary brain tumours.

Some risk factors for brain tumours include;

• Ionising radiation is a category of radiation that increases the risk of brain tumours in those who've been exposed to it. Ionising radiation exposures comprise atomic bomb exposure and radiation and radiotherapy used to cure cancer.
• A small percentage of brain tumours are found in patients with a hereditary history of the disease or genetic abnormalities that enhance the chance of developing brain tumours.
• The older and younger demographic are more prone to developing brain tumours.
• Men are more likely to develop brain tumours compared to women.
• Trauma to the head or seizures may also lead to brain tumours.
• Taking medicines with N-nitroso compounds increases incidences of developing brain tumours.

The best chance of beating brain tumours is by keeping an eye out for brain tumour symptoms. If you ever catch yourself with any of the symptoms, rush to the doctor, even if you think it is nothing serious. In this case, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Some of the most common brain tumour symptoms are:

1. Headaches that are not similar to the ones you have had before and ones that get worse with time.
2. Blurry vision or frequent blackouts.
3. Sudden coordination problems
4. Nausea and vomiting, you cannot find any reason for
5. Numbness in your arms or legs
6. Slurred speech
7. Constant exhaustion
8. Trouble rationalising things
9. Hallucinations
10. Sudden onset of balance issues
11. Forgetting things and confusion
12. Change in behavioural patterns
13. Difficulty hearing
14. Seizures in people with no history of seizures
15. Paranoia

If you have consistently been noticing any of the symptoms stated above in yourself or someone you know, you need to go to a doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor will then ask you to undergo a series of tests.

Brain tumour locations can be determined via precise imaging methods. CT or CAT scans and MRIs are examples of diagnostic tools that can help detect brain tumours. Other MRI scans can aid the surgeon in organising the tumour's removal based on the position of the brain's natural nerve networks.

During surgeries, intraoperative MRI can also be used to direct tissue samples and tumour removal. The chemical composition of the tumour is examined, and the types of lesions visible on the MRI are identified using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Recurrent brain tumours can be found with a PET scan.

A biopsy may occasionally be required to detect a brain tumour. A neurosurgeon conducts the biopsy, and the pathologist gives the final diagnosis after deciding if the tumour seems benign or malignant and classifying it accordingly.

Surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation, alone or in different combinations, are typically used to treat brain tumours, whether they are primary or metastatic, non-cancerous or cancerous. Although it is accurate that chemotherapy and radiation are more frequently employed for malignant, persistent, or recurrent tumours, decisions regarding the best course of treatment are decided on an individual premise and rely on a variety of criteria.

A doctor may suggest combining various therapies as a course of treatment. The most common courses of action if a brain tumour has been detected include:

• Radiation and Radiosurgery - In radiation therapy, high-powered X-rays are directed at the tumour to destroy or shrink it. Radiosurgery is when focused radiation beams are used to destroy the tumour, it is not an actual surgery as no incision is required for the process.

• Surgery - Brain surgery or craniotomy is a popular choice among brain surgeons as it allows them to get the whole tumour out. The surgery is highly specialised and needs to be done very carefully. The surgeon might even ask you to stay awake during the procedure to ensure that no healthy portion of your brain is being affected during the surgery.

• Chemotherapy - The doctor may suggest chemotherapy if the tumour is malignant. Anticancer medications are used in this therapy to eradicate cancer cells from the body and the brain. Chemotherapy can be administered as a tablet or an intravenous (IV) infusion. Following surgery, your doctor may advise chemotherapy to eradicate any cancer cells that remain or stop the tumour cells' growth.

• Targeted Therapy - Drugs used in this therapy target particular traits of cancer cells without damaging healthy cells. If you have problems coping with the adverse consequences of chemotherapy, including exhaustion and nausea, your doctor may advise targeted therapy.

• Immunotherapy - In some cases, your doctor may try to treat your tumour by strengthening your body's immune system. This is done so that your body can attack the tumour from within. You are given medication that bolsters your immune system so it can fight the tumour.

• Shunts - If the tumour in your brain is creating too much pressure on your skull, your doctor may place a shunt to drain the pressure.

Regrettably, brain tumours cannot be prevented. Limiting environmental risks like smoking and heavy radiation contact can lower brain tumour risk.

It's crucial to let your doctor know if you have someone in your immediate family who has a brain tumour. You may then be asked to undergo genetic counselling to see if you have inherited the gene that may be the trigger linked with brain tumours.

If there is one thing that we know about brain tumours, they are unpredictable. A perfectly healthy person with no triggers may develop a tumour. Thus, being prepared is the only option. There are many other instances when health insurance can prove to be beneficial. They are;

• Expenses - Medical expenses have gone up tremendously in the last few years, and healthcare costs are still rising. Just undergoing a diagnostic test may cost you several thousand rupees. But because healthcare costs have gone up does not mean that people do not require medical aid.

Having health insurance helps people from all spheres of life access medical aid. If you have a medical insurance plan, you do not need to worry about the cost of healthcare as you know your policy will take care of that aspect of your care.

• Cashless Hospitalisation - As we have already mentioned, a health emergency can crop up at any given time, and we might not be financially prepared to deal with it.

But if you have health insurance with Tata AIG, you do not need to pay upfront and wait for a reimbursement. You can go to any of our 7200+ network hospitals, where we have arranged cashless care for you.

• Pre and Post-Hospitalisation Expenses - We at Tata AIG understand that expenses during hospitalisation, especially during surgery, are not limited to your stay in the hospital. Additional expenses start before your hospitalisation, like testing expenses and continue post-discharge from your hospital, like dressing change charges. Thus, we provide you with coverage for these expenses as well.

• Lifestyle - The ever-increasing pressures of the modern lifestyle have significantly expanded the range of lifestyle disorders. We are susceptible to a wide range of ailments, from behavioural and lifestyle problems like diabetes to pollution-related ailments like asthma. The continual stress we experience today has led to a large rise in mental health issues in addition to physical ailments, making it essential for you and your family to purchase a comprehensive medical insurance plan.

Buying health insurance from Tata AIG is now simpler than ever, and you can complete the purchase in two ways, either online or physically.

Most people prefer to buy their medical insurance plan from Tata AIG online because the purchase process is hassle-free and consumes little time. To buy your policy online, you must

• Go to our official website.
• Once there, you can browse through the different plans and policies we offer and also go through our list of inclusions and exclusions.
• After carefully going through all of this, you can settle on a plan best suited to your needs. Then all you need to do is apply for the plan.
• Once you click on apply, you will receive a form you need to fill out.
• Fill out the form according to what is being asked, and be careful with the details you are filling in.
• After this, attach the relevant documents being asked for and submit your application.

If all your details are correct, you should receive your policy statement in your email within a few hours.

You can also apply for your health insurance physically. To do this, you will need to

• Locate a Tata AIG office close to you.
• Go to the office and ask for an application form to buy health insurance.
• Read the form a couple of times and fill it out carefully.
• You may be asked to submit some documents with your application form. Attach those documents and submit everything at the designated counter.

After submission, you will receive your insurance in the mail if all your details and documents are in order.

The documents you require to buy health insurance from Tata AIG are as follows:

• Age Proof
• Address Proof
• ID Proof
• Recent Passport Size Photographs
• Previous Medical Reports as proof of your medical history and to check if you have any pre-existing health conditions.