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How can my younger brother get cancer treatment in the UK?

Vanilla19
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Hi everyone.

I have a teen younger brother currently on Southeast Asia. He has relapsed high grade Diffuse Large Non-hodgkin lymphoma. Courses of treatment like chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery was done but unfortunately, nothing worked. The oncologist said that there is no cure already but I have read that there are medications and treatments available here which we haven't tried yet. It is a third-world country which means there are limited treatment available. So, I would like to ask if you know any charity or cancer support groups that could possibly help international cancer patient to avail the services here in the UK? I just came here at London early this year to work as part of the NHS.

Kind regards,

Vanilla19

  • Hello Vanilla and I'm sorry to hear about your brother. Cancer treatment is only free to people who live in the United Kingdom. If you do not normally live here, you have to pay for your treatment. There are no organisations here that can fund this for you.

    However, anyone from overseas can come to the UK for private treatment if they can afford to pay for it. It is very expensive to undertake private cancer treatment, so there are some things you might want to think about. Are you sure there is treatment available in the UK that he cannot get at home? 

    If you're looking for experimental treatment, you will need to go to a major cancer hospital that is researching that particular type of cancer or treatment.

    The best person to talk to about all of this is the doctor treating him in his own country. His doctor will know about research into treatments for his type of cancer. And they may be able to recommend a doctor or hospital in the UK, if necessary.

    You can find more information on our website

    Best of luck and I hope your brother gets the treatment he needs.

    Moderator Sarah

  • Offline in reply to Moderator Sarah

    Hi, Sarah 

    Thank you for the information. I highly appreciate it. I have read about 'people from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) coming to the UK for 6 months or more' here on the site. Do you have any idea if he could avail this? Like if I pay for all of those stuff mentioned in the article.

     

    Many thanks,

    Vanilla

     

     

     

     

  • in reply to Vanilla19

    To receive health benefits in the UK your brother would need to be resident for 6 months and that would mean applying for immigration. Anyone from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) coming to the UK for 6 months or more is required to pay an immigration charge (called the health surcharge) in order to receive treatment onthe NHS.  At the moment, this is £400 per year.  You send this fee to the Home Office alongside your immigration application fee.

    People are generally able to receive the same services as a person ordinarily resident in the UK if they have immigration permission to be in the UK and have paid the surcharge

    To begin this process your brother would first need to apply for immigration and have that accepted. You can only come to the UK as a visitor for up to 6 months. To stay longer you would need to apply for immigration and only if you are accepted and your stay is over 6 months is it possible to apply for the health surcharge. So in a nutshell it isn't possible to come to the UK for 6 months for an extended visit and get healthcare. I would suggest the best people to talk to would be your Citizens Advice Bureau as unfortunately I don't think this is anything we can advise you on

    Wishing you all the best

    Moderator Sarah

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