Getting cancer cover is not always easy but a scheme has been launched by an insurance company which allows patients to receive expensive drugs that are banned on the Health Service. The number of cancer cases has been projected to rise by a third to 300,000 a year by 2020. Our survival rates are among the worst in Europe, because we spend less on treating the disease than many other countries. Some advanced drugs that are used in Europe are not available on the NHS. It is because of this that the news from Western Provident Association is to be congratulated.

The policy is unique in that it gives patients access to a legal helpline and free legal advice if they face being penalised by having NHS treatment withdrawn as a result. More importantly, it is a stark improvement on what was available prior to the announcement. Some health insurers offered cancer-only cover, such as Virgin Cancer Cover, who pays out in stages if you get the disease. It pays 10% of the amount insured on diagnosis, 25% if the cancer is at a later stage and the full amount if it's seriously invasive. Yet this money could be used to pay for the kind of life-extending drugs not available on the NHS such as that offered by Western Provident Association.

The name of the scheme isMyCancerDrugs and it pays a lifetime maximum of £50,000. A patient still has their care from the NHS, but it pays for drugs and private treatment to administer them. With some advanced drugs costing £10,000 a month, critics believe the cap of £50,000 is too low, but premiums are cheap.

Premiums are the same as your age, so a 40-year old pays £40 a year plus 5% insurance premium tax (£42 in total). Smokers pay double, while children under 21 can be included for £22.05 a year. It's only available up to the age of 65 and anyone whose parents or siblings had cancer before the age of 60 will not be eligible. It also won't pay out within 90 days of taking out the policy. Cancer usually strikes after the age of 65 but with statistics showing that breast cancer is striking women in their 30’s, this may be the only real negative restriction of the treatment.

The government has rightly been criticised to not providing NHS patients with the care they should receive. It has driven them to private health care when they should be receiving it from the state. The Department of Health has said patients are free to take treatments not available on the NHS. But it added: 'The additional treatment may involve some associated care which cannot be provided separately. 'In these cases, the patient must be treated privately for the whole of that package of care.'

An alternative to cancer-only cover is private medical insurance, which pays for treatment of acute conditions such as cancer and operations such as hip replacements, hernias and heart attacks. The biggest providers are Bupa, Norwich Union, Axa PPP, PruHealth and Standard Life.

Before taking out a policy, read the exclusions carefully. You won't be covered for pre-existing conditions and other common exclusions are emergency treatment after an accident and chronic illnesses, such as asthma, Alzheimer's and arthritis, where you are unlikely to return to your previous state of health.