When not to travel

Most people who have had cancer can travel without problems. But there are times when it is best not to fly because of changes in pressure or the amount of oxygen in the cabin of the plane. Check with your doctor that you can fly. Or contact the medical officer of the airline you are flying with. You shouldn’t fly if you

• Have had any kind of surgery in the last 10 days, including laparoscopy
• Have had surgery to your bowel or chest in the past 4 weeks
• Have had surgery for a brain tumour in the last few months
• Have a brain tumour and the pressure in your skull (intracranial pressure) could be higher than normal
• Have had high dose chemotherapy or a bone marrow or stem cell transplant in the past 6 to 12 months
• Have a low level of platelets in your blood
• Are breathless
• Are anaemic

You should not fly straight after surgery or a laparoscopy because you may have air trapped in your body. When you fly, the air can expand and cause an increase in pressure inside the body. After 10 days, this should have all dissolved away, so you will be able to fly. If you have had surgery very recently though, it is always a good idea to check with your surgeon before planning your trip.

If you’ve had bowel or chest surgery, you will need to wait at least 4 weeks. Do check with your surgeon - 4 weeks is only a guide.

Brain surgery is another special case. The skull is a fixed size, so changes in pressure inside the skull can have serious effects. If you’ve had brain tumour surgery within the past few months, you need to talk to your brain surgeon before you make any definite plans.

Immediately after a bone marrow transplant or stem cell transplant, you will be more at risk of picking up an infection. Doctors usually advise against going abroad for the first 6 months. Most people need to have regular check ups and may need blood transfusions during this time. Once your blood counts have returned to normal you will be able to travel. This is usually within a year of your transplant. If you want to travel, talk to your doctor about how safe it is for you to go and ask if you need any vaccinations. There is more about infection risk in our page on taking care of yourself while you are away.

Platelets are blood cells that help your blood to clot. Your platelet count can be lowered by cancer treatment. To be safe to fly, your platelet count should be above 40,000 per cubic ml of blood. You will need to check this with your doctor.