[sstrudeau]

I am in a similar situation. I have thyroid cancer, which is generally a manageable form of cancer but has a small (but not insignificant) risk of recurrence and distant metastasis which could require expensive diagnostic & treatment options. Having a pre-existing condition makes it very difficult to buy insurance on the private market and it is very expensive, if you can buy it at all. I recently hit a point in my life where I'd paid off debts and could have afforded to take a risk and start my own business (and want to), but I am not willing to put my family at risk for bankruptcy if I end up requiring expensive tests and treatments and I'm not willing to forgo those things and risk my own life. My dad faced a similar situation when I was younger. My mom was diagnosed with cancer at a time when he was considering leaving his blue collar job to return to college; he ended up staying in his job to keep his generous union health care plan, my mom got great care and eventually recovered, but he missed a chance to grab new opportunity because the risk again was too great.