Planning & Suggestion For Travel
Be it spending time with distant relatives and friends, or traveling for work or vacation, traveling need sufficient planning. It requires additional planning, especially for cancer patients. As the holiday season is around the corner, a leading Cancer Physician from Anderson Diagnostics has shared useful suggestions on how to travel safely and easily for cancer patients. Discuss with your physician regarding your travel plans and confirm whether you are eligible to travel with your existing treatment or condition.
How cancer patients should plan in advance while traveling?
- Inform your physician in advance about your trip. Request them to sign or authorize that you are fit to go for a vacation to that specific destination. If the physician or you have any concerns regarding the trip, you both should work together and sort out the matters. Most physicians do not recommend to travel on the same week of starting chemotherapy or a new treatment, be it an infusion or oral treatment. In most cases, the treatment will be scheduled after analyzing your travel plans.
- Plan well about your destination: Ensure to reside in a place where emergency room, cancer center or hospital is located nearby. If possible, see whether the hospital or emergency room is located within the insurance network.
- Ensure to stock sufficient medical supplies: Medical supplies like nausea or pain medications or oral chemotherapy medications should be carried in additional quantities. If you lose one set of medications, you can depend on another set. It is also recommended to place two or three sets of medications in three different places of your luggage. This way, you would not miss your medicines even if you lose one set.
- Contact your airline and explain your situation before flying: It is best to inform your airline about your medical condition so that they can remain prepared regarding any special needs or oxygen requirements.
- Reduce chances of infection by hand washing on a frequent basis: Hand washing is an important activity that should be followed strictly especially while traveling. Every person knows the importance of hand washing and its value cannot be ignored anytime. Check with your physician whether it is recommended to wear a mask while traveling on a train, plane or when you are in close connection in huge crowds for a long time. Check out for more info on travel guide for cancer patients.
- Take a note from your doctor about your condition: If you are carrying implanted devices like ports or other important medications, your physician should approve in the form of a letter. There are chances for security professionals to question about your medical devices. When you carry a letter from your provider, you can easily pass the security checks without much difficulty. It is also important to hold ID cards which you would have received while purchasing medical implanted device or port. The ID cards state that you are approved to hold these devices.
- Check immunization requirements for your destination: Ask your physician whether you can get immunizations from the destination you are traveling. You should also your physician whether it would not disturb your present treatment and safe to receive from the new destination.
- If you are experiencing symptoms like vomiting, nausea, increased pain, high fever or other form of sickness, you need to medical attention immediately.
- Stay hydrated and safeguard yourself from the sun: It is very important for patients who are undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Travelling can make the patient sensitive to sun and heat. It is best to avoid exposing or traveling during morning hours. While packing, ensure to carry sunblock or sunscreen, sunglasses, long-sleeved clothing and a brimmed hat.
- Take sufficient rest and travel as per your convenience: It is necessary to take care of your body first while traveling. Listen and go along with your body. Do not strain yourself just because you have come for a trip. When you take sufficient rest and tour around the destination at your convenience, you can definitely enjoy the trip in the best way.
- Eat cautiously: Ensure to avoid uncooked vegetables, meat, raw fish and buffet when traveling. You need to eat cautiously. As you will be eating outside most times of the day, you have to be careful when choosing and eating foods. Uncooked foods and vegetables are the main sources of infections. Eat well-cooked foods. If possible, you can purchase fruits, wash, cut and eat at your hotel or guest house.