When critical illness comes, are you ready?

Critical illness looms like a shadow, waiting to strike anytime, leading to not just death, but also financial problems. It attacks—simultaneously and mercilessly—your health, emotional well-being, and, most of all, your finances.  

In fact, most people are more worried about its possible financial burden on the family than the pain they have to endure during treatments. The high costs of critical illness can wipe out savings—and everything you have built in one fell swoop.

Like everything else in life, preparation and prevention are key. Critical illnesses can be prevented or at least need to be diagnosed at the very early stages, so they can be effectively treated.

Prevention of Critical Illnesses

While there are a few illnesses that are completely hereditary, many of the world’s top critical illnesses are preventable and lifestyle-based, according to an article in the National Library of Medicine (2019).

Health experts emphasize that maintaining a healthy lifestyle can prevent a lot of diseases and medical conditions. The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC), in 2026, released a simple guide on the actions to prevent these diseases from even developing or, at the very least, from exacerbating.  

1. Avoid tobacco and limit alcohol intake.

2. Get enough sleep for at least 7 hours daily.

3. Engage in moderate physical activities like brisk walking or gardening for at least 150 minutes per week.

4. Eat nutritious foods.

5. Limit the consumption of highly processed foods as well as foods high in sugar, saturated fats, and sodium from the diet.

6. Avoid extreme stress. This can significantly reduce the risk of many diseases and medical conditions.

7. Schedule regular screening and health checks.

8. Know your family history and share it with your doctor.
   
   

The Importance of Early Diagnosis

Most of the time, the difference between stage 1 critical illness and stage 2 is just one visit to a doctor. The World Health Organization says that early diagnosis is vital to improving outcomes of critical illnesses. Once this window of opportunity is taken, it can limit irreversible damage, significantly lessen the possible financial burden, and drastically increase the survival rate.

Being Prepared Financially

While we can still take action to prevent critical illness from happening or get an early diagnosis, there is, unfortunately, no guarantee that we won’t get diagnosed with critical illness and no way of knowing this, too, in advance.

The only guarantee is preparedness—physical, emotional and financial preparedness.  

Knowing your family history firsthand, managing your risk factors, and accepting the possibility of getting diagnosed with critical illness can help brace ourselves from this reality.

Now, financial preparedness—this is trickier.

The cost of critical illness is impossible to predict, and given the astronomical costs of critical illnesses, it’s even much harder to save for. The uncertainty and ambiguity of when it is needed and how much is needed, or if it’s needed at all, overwhelm most people—leading to non-action.

And this is wrong. Though we’re not sure if we’ll need to, it is always best to prepare. For instance, if we don’t get to use the money we prepared, that’s fine. We’ll just have additional funds we can use for our retirement!

Aside from the standard critical illness emergency fund, one of the best ways to prepare is having critical illness insurance. There are insurance plans that do not only provide a lumpsum amount when we get critical illness; they also provide daily hospitalization cash benefits

The Cost of Critical Illness in the Philippines

Latest statistics from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), as of 2023, lists heart disease (ischemic heart disease), cancer (neoplasms), stroke (cerebrovascular diseases) as top illnesses that cause death in the Philippines. These three are all classified as critical illnesses.

What’s worrying about these diseases is the hidden costs in managing the illness, which are on top of the hospital and surgical bills we need to pay for. Because the management of these illnesses is long-term, we also need to think about and prepare for income disruption such as job loss and even possible disability. 

Heart Disease

Diseases of the heart ranked as the top cause of death in the country.

According to the American Health Association, Ischemic heart disease refers to health conditions caused by narrowed arteries or blood vessels, reducing the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart potentially leading to a heart attack.

The symptoms manifest as discomfort or pain in the chest known as angina pectoris. However, there is also a condition known as silent ischemia where an individual does not feel anything unusual and may suffer from a heart attack without warning.

Its surgical costs around 1 to 2.5 million pesos for a coronary artery bypass and for post-surgery, it can cost around 500,000 or more.

Cancer

Cancers or neoplasms are the second leading cause of death among Filipinos, characterized by the development and spread of abnormal cells across the body, destroying normal healthy tissues.

Common symptoms may include unexplained loss of weight, fatigue, persistent cough, and noticeable changes in the body. The most common types of cancers among Filipino are those of the breast, lungs, colon, liver and prostate, while cervical cancer among women is also a significant concern as stated by the Mayo Clinic.

There is certain risk factors associated with developing cancer, such as age, lifestyle, and family history. It is important to be mindful of the body and to seek early medical attention to detect any cancer and address it.

The cost of cancer treatment can cost more than ₱1.5 Million based on the updated prices of Pinoy Medical.

Stroke

Cerebrovascular diseases, most commonly known as stroke, are conditions involving the flow of blood to the brain. These include aneurysm, thrombosis or clot formation, embolism or blockages, and hemorrhage or the rupturing of blood vessels.

When impaired, loss of oxygen supply to the brain may be fatal.  Brain cells may die and since they are not able to regenerate, permanent damage may occur and result in physical, mental, and cognitive disabilities.

In health emergencies such as these, time is of the essence. Ischemia or lack of enough blood flowing into the brain is what causes severe damage to the body and its functions.

Treatment cost of cancer stroke can reach more than ₱2 Million, based on the updated price list of Pinoy Medical.

Again, the good news is that these critical illnesses are not entirely unavoidable. With proper care and attention, these critical illnesses can be prevented or at least diagnosed at very early stages to be successfully treated.