Hi, my name is Steve - can I go abroad whilst having chemo?

I had surgery to remove tumour in December as I have bowel cancer and start chemo next week which is scheduled every other week for the next 6 months.  We already have holiday to Spain booked and plan/planned to see the Spanish f1 Grand Prix for my sons 18th birthday whilst out there.  It’s not until end of June so I will be 4 months into my Chemo cycle, I now don’t know what to do in terms of planning to cancel or risk going, my son will be going regardless as his mates are booked also but we are gutted we would not be with him on his 18th if we don’t go as well.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience of going abroad whilst having chemo or if it is a big no go.  Any help or advice appreciated.

Thanks.

  • Hi Steve,

    Welcome to Cancer Chat. There will be various things to consider if you are thinking of travelling - this page on our website has a lot of information about travelling abroad.

    It may depend a lot on how you are feeling, so you may want to wait a little while to see about this before you decide anything.

    Do have a search of the forum (using the bar at the top of the page) for other relevant discussions on here, if you would like to, as you may find some more thoughts and advice from others.

    Otherwise, hopefully you'll get some more replies to your post here soon.

    Wishing you all the best,

    Ben
    Cancer Chat Moderator

  • This is really a discussion you have to have with your treating doctors. Depending on the chemo, the risk of infection can be high. Then there's the how you will be feeling in general. All chemo treatments are different, and all individuals respond differently to it. So many variables.

    There's also the fact some airlines might deem you high risk, and there's the insurance. You might not get travel insurance, and if you do, it may be considerably more than the cost of the holiday itself. You would have to declare your situation to the insurance company. Ending up in hospital abroad can be a very, very expensive thing.