If cancer runs in your family, you might be especially concerned about your risk. If you're looking for some peace of mind, insurance is available specifically to cover you if you should get cancer.

Is cancer insurance right for you?

Here are a few questions you should have answered before you purchase cancer insurance:

• What does the policy pay for? A good policy will pay for hospital stays, medicine, surgery, doctors' visits, radiation treatment and chemotherapy. Make sure you understand what is excluded.

• Does the policy offer increased benefits after an extended hospital stay? Some policies might promise increased benefits after a lengthy hospital stay (longer than 90 days). But according to the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, the average hospital stay in relation to cancer is 13 days.

• Are cancer-related illnesses covered? Cancer, along with its treatments, can lead to other physical problems, such as infections, diabetes and pneumonia. Most cancer policies do not cover treatment for these illnesses.

• Will travel expenses be covered? Often, cancer treatments require travel to a hospital hundreds of miles away. Not all cancer policies will cover travel expenses, but some will cover not only the travel of the patient but also of companions.

• Will your medical policy pay duplicate benefits? While most cancer insurance policies will pay even if you're already getting health coverage under another policy, the reverse may not be true. Some major medical policies won't pay out if you hold other coverage, such as cancer insurance.

• Is there a waiting period? Know how long you have to wait after a diagnosis before coverage kicks in. It could be 30 days or longer. Also find out if there is a maximum time period for coverage.

How does it work?

Cancer insurance policies may be purchased individually or, in some cases, through your employer's benefits program. Insurers typically exclude you if they know you already have cancer. An insurer may also alter premium payments on the basis of your lifestyle or family history.

Most cancer insurance policies pay out a lump sum benefit upon diagnosis. Some of them continue to pay for various costs, according to policy guidelines, but others provide simply a one-time lump sum and then coverage ends.

Your premiums will be more expensive if you want a larger lump-sum payment, or if you want the rest of your family to be covered. Your premiums may also increase as you get older.

According to the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, hospitalization for cancer accounts for about 78 percent of treatment costs and 13 percent goes toward physician services. The rest goes to other professional services, drugs and nursing home care. There are additional large nonmedical expenses are not usually covered by cancer insurance, such as home care, transportation and rehabilitation costs.

Getting value from insurance

Opinions differ on whether or not cancer insurance is a "good buy." According to the Consumer Federation of America, you're better off buying comprehensive medical coverage and disability insurance to help compensate you if you lose time from work due to any serious illness or injury.

The American Cancer Society says, "Cancer insurance is supplemental, not a substitute for comprehensive coverage."

Basic health insurance is the first line of defense

Early detection and diagnosis are crucial to cancer survival. Cancer insurance won't help with detection and diagnosis. Research shows that those who have health insurance are more likely not only to have early cancer detection but also have a greater survival rate.

For example, according to the National Cancer Database (NCDB), a study of breast cancer patients diagnosed from 1998 to 2003 found that women who were uninsured or had Medicaid insurance were about 1.5 times more likely be diagnosed with stage II versus stage I disease, and 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with stage III/IV versus stage I disease, compared to patients with private insurance. NCBD says this can be explained in part due to lower access to and use of cancer screening services among those without private health insurance, plus lower rates of follow-up after an abnormal screening result.

In addition, according to NCBD, patients who were uninsured or had Medicaid at the time of cancer diagnosis were 1.6 times as likely to die within 5 years compared to those with private insurance.

According to the American Cancer Society, slightly less than one in two men and slightly more than one in three women may contract cancer during their lives. This means one in two men and two in three women don't.