I always get DAN Trip Insurance for overseas trips, which gives me peace of mind should the unexpected happen. There is a modest upfront payment based on the total trip costs and your age, so I considered skipping it for a Raja Ampat trip since I’ve had many trips without having to file a claim. I’m glad I chose otherwise.
I signed up for this bucket-list trip in late 2019, with a departure scheduled for 2022. The trip got delayed twice due to COVID-19 restrictions in Indonesia. The liveaboard operator finally confirmed it for February 2024, so I completed all the necessary arrangements. I paid for my airline tickets, hotels, the boat — and yes, trip insurance. Everything was set for the trip of a lifetime, so what could go wrong?
In June 2023 I completed a back-to-back liveaboard trip to Palau that involved 17 days of diving. I made 63 dives with no issues. After the trip I felt unusually tired, but I thought it was due to the extensive diving.
My annual dive physical with my primary care physician was scheduled for the following month. I had passed all my previous annual physicals without issues, but this year was different. My physician detected a heart murmur and sent me to a cardiologist for further evaluation. The cardiologist gave me an electrocardiogram, an echocardiogram, and a stress test, all of which I passed easily, but he requested a CT scan to confirm that everything was fine. I had every reason to believe there would be no other issues.
The scan detected a mass in my abdomen. It was a complete shock as I had no symptoms other than being a little more tired than usual since my Palau trip. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew I needed to focus on my health. All the planning, waiting, and looking forward to Raja Ampat made me put off any thought of canceling. I was still excited about the trip, so I hoped the mass would turn out to be benign.
I had two biopsies in November and December 2023, which confirmed high-grade B-cell lymphoma (non-Hodgkin). Near the time of my biopsies I began to experience intense pain in my lower back, which is consistent with this type of cancer. I had to cancel my trip.
It was not easy to give up on something I had so looked forward to, but it was the right thing to do. Not only would my symptoms have gotten worse, but I could have been a burden on other trip participants and the boat crew, and I may have needed a medical evacuation.
I filed the necessary insurance paperwork for my reimbursement claim with documentation of my diagnosis. There was no hassle, and I promptly received a refund of all the money I had invested in the trip.
The good news is that I completed all my chemotherapy treatments in June 2024, and the cancer is gone. I’m on the mend and trying to get back to full strength, which may take a while. In retrospect, the dive physical probably saved my life since it led to discovering cancer early when it was more responsive to treatment.
I’m looking forward to more diving days — and hopefully that trip to Raja Ampat. This ordeal taught me that if something can go wrong, it probably will — even if it’s the most unexpected issue. I will continue to insure all my high-cost trips, which I think every diver should do. You never know when you might need that insurance before or during a dive trip.
© Alert Diver – Q1 2025