By Dr. X, client of Set for Life Insurance.
I wish to remain anonymous as I write this as it is a very personal story. However, I thought it was important to share with others as I may be able to help others through what I experienced.
My life seemed to take a pretty normal path. After I graduated from undergrad I went to med school, residency and moved back to my hometown. I married a fellow physician I met in residency and we settled down. We bought a house, had twin babies and life was busy and full. I purchased a large life insurance policy to protect my family.
A few years later, the stress of the family and work got the best of my marriage and we ended up in a terrible divorce. My attorneys required me to name my ex as beneficiary of my life insurance.
After the dust settled, I met my new wife and we got married and had a child. This time my wife was a stay at home mom and we eventually had 3 kids. At this time, we decided that I ought to get more life insurance to cover my income and to protect her in case I passed away. I kept putting off the application process. I was busy working, having my older kids every other week and focusing on my new family. Eventually, my wife insisted that I get that life insurance policy!
I finally got around to filling out the paperwork (thanks for the persistence Set for Life!) and submitted it to the company. An examiner came over to complete my paramed exam (blood and urine test). They gave me the bar code and a few days later I downloaded the results. My first reaction was that something was wrong. My levels were completely off. This must have been a mistake. As I started thinking, I realized I didn’t even have a primary care doctor and I hadn’t had any blood work done in years. The insurance company contacted me and said that because the levels were off, they either needed a new test or I needed to see a doctor.
Like most doctors, I didn’t even have a doctor. I set up an appointment right away and they fit me in the next week. Long story short, the blood work detected that I had cancer. This really threw me for a loop. I was only 44 at the time and in my earning prime. I immediately started treatment and went through the whole process.
I’m happy to report that I am now two years treatment-free of cancer. For now, my employer sponsored life insurance policy will have to suffice for my family. In the meantime, had I not applied for life insurance, I may not have caught the cancer in the first place. Here I thought I was purchasing life insurance to protect my family and in the meantime, purchasing life insurance saved my life.