[nzforus]

Hi everyone! I just found this site a couple of days ago and am a newbie so I hope I'm posting correctly! My husband, myself and our 2 children are filling out our forms to immigrate to NZ. Here is my question. My son had cancer and completed his treatment successfully 1 year ago. He is totally healthy now, but needs his blood checked every few months. I'm so worried that we will be eliminated because of this - do any of you know how they handle a past cancer diagnosis?

[Diny]

Hi there

I'm sorry I don't have any info for you on this one. There is a section on the NZIS medical forms which asks for details of any past illness, but how the information affects your application - I'm afraid I don't know.

My sincere wishes to you and your family, and good luck.

Diny

[nzforus]

Hi Diny!
Thanks for your post - if you ever hear of any info on how a past cancer diagnosis affects outcomes - be sure to keep me in mind! :yes . Thanks! I hope to be on these forums frequently now that I've found them - lots of fabulous info!
nzforus

[richsadams]

Hi Nzforus,

Welcome! :nice1 It's Great to hear from a fellow Californian! Where are you located in the Golden State?

First let me say you have my best wishes. Going through something like that with a child is a life-changing experience no one should ever have to deal with. It’s wonderful that he’s better now.

Don't be put off by the medical issues. I can't say as to how the NZIS will ultimately decide, but we were in a similar situation. My wife had heart problems in her thirties. About ten years ago she had a full cardiac arrest. After surgery and some other work they've cleared things up and she's perfectly healthy now thank the good Lord. But we too were worried, and it's one of the reasons we used an immigration consulting firm. (P.M. me if you want more info on that.) We wanted to be sure we were getting the best advice. Otherwise we would have probably done everything ourselves, but it was worth the investment to us.

The NZIS concern is for any ongoing costs associated with medical treatment here as medicine is basically socialized. If you can demonstrate that future expenses will be reasonable you shouldn't have a problem. You'll need all of the documentation from your son’s doctor(s) and your application may be slowed by a review by the NZIS medical folks (ours was), but in our case, they were satisfied that we wouldn't be a burden on the system and now we have our Permanent Residence Visas.

So keep your hopes up and we'll keep our :hopeso for you!

[evelien]

Hi Nzforus

What a difficult matter. The bright side of course being that your child has recovered and is now healthy.

However, as you will have experienced (the hard way I should say) in cases of recovery from most types of cancer a five-year survival rate is normally being used, for e.g. insurance matters.

My consultant once told me that NZIS also uses the five-year term with ex-cancer-patients. Which means a medical waiver will only be given if the person has been declared cancer-free for at least five years.

I think you should consider consulting the NZIS on this matter prior to any other steps you might be taking. You could be in for a lot of costs and a huge disappointment for nothing if it turns out you do not have a chance of succesfully emigrating.

It's a tough one. I know, because I'm in a similar situation.

Best of luck and I wish you all wisdom in the decisions you must make.

Keep us posted!!! Evelien

[nzforus]

Hi Evelien,
Thanks for your reply! I'm calling the NZIS today. I'm hoping that they have some flexibility on the '5year event free survival thing' :hopeso . I'm also hoping that they will take into consideration that both my husband and I have skills they are looking for :nice1 . My husband is a Civil Engineer and I am a Registered Nurse. This medical stuff is so frustrating because no one knows if (or when) a person will develop cancer. No one has any idea who will relapse (or not) at some time in their lives. :? I don't know your situation - but whether it involves you or another family member my heart goes out to you. It is a very long haul emotionally and physically. If they turn us down, then I guess it was not meant for us to go. Anyway, my son and the rest of our family are doing great and life is good. I hope things are well with you and that you are able to immigrate! :yes Let me know!

nzforus

[Tash]

You're absolutely right about not knowing when a person might develop cancer, or any sort of disease. I do know of a friend of a friend who had had breast cancer and wasn't successful in her application. A bit of a flaw in the system I guess.
On the positive side, both of you are in-demand professionals. The cost of applying is not so high as to make it not worthwhile. Best of luck with your application.

[nzforus]

Hi Tash!
I'm sending off our EOI today anyway! :yes Here's hoping the scale will tilt in our favor! :hopeso Thanks for the post!

nzforus

[Tash]

Good on you! Keep us posted, and I'm sure many of our thoughts will be with you.

[Tash]

Good on you! Keep us posted, and I'm sure many of our thoughts will be with you.

[Michelle and Richard]

Hello

NZforus

Well been there done that with the cancer thing although I was further down the line when I applied, it was 5 years after diagnosis. I obtained all the medical record s from my GP and consultant and took them along to the medical. Everything was photocopied and then submitted to NZIS and I never heard any more about it and passed OK.

Best of luck to you.

Michelle

[nzforus]

Hi Michelle!

Well, just as I was about to submit our $ and EOI - I received a call from an extension of the NZ embassy. It was a disappointing call :wah and put me in a sad mood for a bit. Our sons previous diagnosis of cancer might indeed prevent us from getting out of the 'pool'. We thought that our professions would balance out the health risks for NZ, but it looks unlikely :uhoh . They of course still invited us to send the EOI because there is always a chance, but not to get our hopes up too high. Since we were considering both NZ and AU we are turning our activities towards AU. Perhaps we do need to wait for the '5 year event free survival' time (I hate that term!), perhaps not. Don't know! I've printed out our EOI and will keep it for the future :cool . Anyway, although a bit put off we are not feeling hopeless or helpless. We have 2 wonderful, healthy, intelligent kids and for that we are soooooooo blessed :angel (okay, we're not religious, but this smiley fits). I wish we had bunches of money :mrgreen: so we could apply for every country, but we don't. We have to choose the most likely place for acceptance and our chances may be better with AU. So we'll see. Anyway, I'm thrilled that you got in and I hope you living a happy, healthy life in NZ :cool . All my best

nzforus

[Michelle and Richard]

I really do feel for you and all I can say is to wish you the best of luck and health. I hated talking about survival time, life expectancy its so clinical and you are talking about a persons life. Try and get as many copies of medical reports now, yes you might have a few years before you can apply but get them now its easier than trying to chase up doctors later.

Dont give up hope I know that people do get in here following cancer but it does seem that they look at 5 years.

Michelle

[nzforus]

Oh my gosh :eek !! I sent off our EOI last week (after mulling it over a billion times), because I never wanted to look back and say woulda, coulda, shoulda. I know it is just the first step, but today our EOI was 'selected for consideration' from the pool! :P I'm just a bit excited and wanted to share it with you all. You have been so supportive regarding our sons past cancer diagnosis. I really hope this works out. Trying hard to maintain realistic expectations. Happy Thanksgiving all! :nice1

[Michelle and Richard]

Just read you post, thats fantastic news I hope it all goes through OK for you.

REALLY REALLY PLEASED FOR YOU ALL

Michelle

[nzforus]

Thanks Michelle!

I hope it goes through as well! :yes Our backup is still Australia and if all else fails there is always Canada! Maybe I should invest in some thermal undies now (just in case!) :eek Thanks for your kind words!!!
nzforus

[chips]

Nzforus-
Please please keep us posted. All the very very best .
Chips

[nzforus]

Thanks Chips! Truly appreciate it. :yes Selected on 11/24/04. Calling NZ tonight to get our officers name. Geez, the wait is painful! :hopeso

nzforus

[Michelle and Richard]

Hi

Just a quick tip get all the medical reports you can to bring with you. Once you get here (and fingers crossed you will) I have found I have needed them to get health insurance etc.

Anyway have a great Christmas and a very happy new year in NZ hopefully

Michelle

[nzforus]

Thanks Michelle.

I'm planning on getting doubles (maybe triples) of everything! I hope the phone book size of medical documents doesn't freak out the NZ service too much. :eek. How are you enjoying life in NZ? It gives me hope that you and yours have made it there - wishing you peace and good health in the coming year and always!

nzforus

[Michelle and Richard]

Things are good here and very happy to have made it. Will do a "3 month on post" soon, just finding the time there is just so much to do here.

Michelle