Travelling abroad

For many people, cancer and treatment won’t affect where or how they travel. For others there may be issues that they need to think about. Your physical needs may be different since you had treatment. You may be more tired or at more risk of getting an infection. There could also be practical issues to think about, such as how you are going to get there.

There is more information about these and other issues in the how cancer and its treatment might affect travelling section.

You also need to think about when you make your trip. There are times when you shouldn’t travel. You shouldn’t fly too soon after surgery, for instance. There is more about this and other issues in our when not to travel page.

People can find it more difficult to get travel insurance after treatment for cancer, especially when they are going to countries outside Europe. There is a page in this section of CancerHelp that has information about travel insurance and cancer, including a list of companies that may be willing to cover people with cancer.

Please note - we take every effort to keep our travel insurance page up to date. But insurance companies come and go and change their rules. We can’t guarantee that the companies we list will insure you. We offer the list in good faith, in the hope that it will be of some help. If you have any information to feed back to us, please click on ‘contact us’ at the right hand side of any page.

Your cancer or treatment may affect how you travel. Some cancers and their treatments can increase your risk of getting a blood clot. Sitting still for a long time can increase the risk, whether you are travelling by plane, car or bus. However you are travelling, you will need to think about how long it will take and whether you can manage the journey comfortably.

There is more about this and other issues in our page on taking care of yourself on your trip.

Most travel companies and airlines have a medical officer who can give advice about your journey. You should let the company know about

• Any disability you have
• Any special needs you have
• Any equipment you might need

They will be able to arrange any help you might need, including

• Early boarding and finding a suitable seat on the plane
• Special diets
• Wheelchairs
• Transfers to and from the airport
• Oxygen

You can find out more about having oxygen on holiday in our questions and answers section.

If you are going to a country within the European Economic Area (the EU, Norway, Lichtenstein and Iceland) or Switzerland, you should get a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This replaced the old E111 form. This card allows you to get health care free, or at a reduced cost, in these countries. The care you will receive is the same as a citizen of the country you are visiting. It may not cover everything you would get in the NHS. You can find out which countries are included on the NHS Choices website.

You can apply for an EHIC online, by phone on 0845 606 2030, or by post. You can get the form from your local Post Office.

Remember that the EHIC doesn’t cover you for costs if you need to fly home. We recommend that you take out travel insurance to cover for this, and for cancellation of your trip due to illness. You can find out more about travel insurance in this section of CancerHelp UK.

You will need to pay for healthcare in most countries. So you really do need travel insurance, as this could be very expensive.

The UK has agreements with some countries so that people can receive free or low cost emergency care. There is a list of the countries we have this agreement with on the NHS Choices website. 

To visit some countries you will need vaccinations before you leave.  It is a good idea to get advice about this at least 6 weeks before you travel.

You should not have any ‘live vaccines’ during a course of chemotherapy or for at least 6 months afterwards. This is because your immune system has been weakened. Live vaccines contain a small amount of live virus or bacteria that has been altered, so you don’t get the infection.

You should not have the following

• Measles
• Rubella (German Measles)
• MMR (the triple vaccine for Measles, Mumps and Rubella)
• BCG (Tuberculosis)
• Yellow Fever
• Oral Typhoid

Remember - babies and children who've had routine childhood vaccinations in the UK are no risk to you at all. There is a very small risk from people who’ve had live vaccines by mouth.  But no oral live vaccines are given to children as part of the routine vaccination programme in the UK.  The oral typhoid vaccine is currently the only live vaccine given by mouth in the UK.

You can have inactivated vaccines safely. Inactivated vaccines contains a killed virus.

If you have a weakened immune system, inactivated vaccines may not work as well as they would when your immune system is working normally. They include

• Diptheria
• Tetanus
• Flu
• Hepatitis A and B
• Rabies
• Cholera
• Typhoid Injection
• Meningitis
• Tick-borne encephalitis
• Japanese encephalitis
• Polio (the live vaccine is no longer used in the UK)

Check whether it's OK with your specialist before you have any injections.

It is important to check before you travel to a tropical country if you need to take an antimalarial medicine. There are a number of different medicines available. You start some 1 to 2 days before you travel and others 2 to 3 weeks before you leave. You must continue to take them while you are away and for 1 or 4 weeks afterwards, depending on the drug. Your doctor can check the medicines are suitable for the country you are going to and that they do not interact with other drugs you may be taking.

Although these medicines are very effective, they cannot give 100% protection. So you still need to take care in these countries to avoid mosquito bites. You should

• Use insect repellent on your skin and in your room
• Sleep under a mosquito net that has been treated with insecticide if your room has no air conditioning or screening on the doors or windows
• Keep covered up with long sleeved tops and trousers, especially if you are going out at night

The symptoms of malaria usually develop within 4 weeks of infection, but in some cases it may take up to a year. The most common symptom is a high temperature. If you become ill with a fever or flu like symptoms, you should see a doctor straight away and tell them that you have been to a country with a risk of malaria.

If you are taking any medicines, you will need to plan how much you need to bring with you and get those prescriptions before you go. If you are taking any controlled drugs, such as morphine based painkillers, you need to make special arrangements. There is more information about this on our page about taking medicines abroad.