Taking cancer medication abroad
Before taking some types of medicine in or out of the UK, you need a letter from your doctor. Talk to them as early as possible before your trip.
Get advice from your healthcare team
If you are planning a trip abroad, ask your cancer doctor, specialist nurse, GP, practice nurse, pharmacist or travel clinic for advice about medicines you need to take. Try to talk to them as early as possible before your trip. We have more information about talking to a health professional.
They can tell you if you need to make any special arrangements. You may need a letter from your doctor and copies of your prescriptions to take some types of medicine into or out of the UK. These are called controlled drugs. They include painkillers, such as opioids or morphine-like medicines. You can visit gov.uk to check whether a medicine is a controlled drug.
The letter from your doctor should include:
- your name
- what countries you are visiting and when
- a list of your medicines, including the doses, strengths and how much you are taking with you
- the signature of the person who prescribed the controlled drug.
Having a letter from your doctor is also helpful if you need to take the following with you:
- syringes
- needles
- stoma supplies
- portable medicine pumps – these are small devices that give liquid medicines into your body in a controlled way.
The following organisations have more detailed information about travelling with medicines:
Check country restrictions
Some countries restrict or limit the drugs that can be taken into or out of the country. Medicines you can buy over the counter in the UK may be restricted in other countries.
If you are taking medicines abroad with you, it is important to check with the country’s embassy or high commission. You can find details of foreign embassies in the UK on gov.uk.
Have enough medicine for your trip
Make sure you have medicine supplies to last your whole trip and to cover possible delays. Your doctor may be able to prescribe a longer supply than they usually do for you. But there may be a limit to how much they can prescribe.
If you cannot get supplies for your whole trip, you may need to check whether you can get your medicines in the country you are visiting. You may be able to register with a local doctor or buy medicines from a pharmacist while you are away.
Be aware that the quality of medicines can vary in other countries. Fake medicines may be a problem, especially if you buy supplies online or in some areas outside Europe and North America. Fake medicines may have the same or similar packaging to the real ones. But they have the wrong, or harmful, ingredients. Or they have low levels of the active and most important ingredient.
If you plan to travel with more than 3 months’ supply of a controlled drug, get advice from the Home Office before leaving or entering the UK.
Storing and carrying medicines
The guidance about carrying medicines varies depending on where and how you are travelling. It also depends on the type and amount of medicine you want to take with you. Always check and follow the advice of the airline or other transport company you are travelling with.
For security and customs checks, it is best to carry all medicines and letters from your doctor or other paperwork in your hand luggage. Keep medicines in their original packaging, because it is important they are clearly labelled. Carrying your medicines in your hand luggage also means you have them with you if you need them during the journey.
You may also want to consider carrying one supply of medications in your hand luggage and another in your suitcase. That way, if one set goes missing, you still have the other.
It can help to keep a list of:
- the medicines you are taking
- the doses
- how many times a day you take them.
This will help you get replacements if you lose your medicines. Always use the generic names of the medicines because brand names can vary from country to country.
-
Flying with liquid medicines
Most liquids in your hand luggage are restricted to a maximum of 100ml. But you are allowed to carry more than 100ml of liquid medicines if you need these during the flight – this includes liquid diets and inhalers.
You must bring a supporting document from your doctor or another medical professional. This could be a letter or signed prescription.
You can check hand luggage rules with your airline and the airport before you travel. Airport staff may open containers to check the liquid medicines when you go through security. GOV.UK has more information about carrying liquids in your hand luggage.
-
Keeping medicines cool
It is best to keep medicines dry, cool and out of direct sunlight. The shelf life of a medicine is the period when it can be safely used. The shelf life of some medicines may be reduced if they are not kept at the correct temperature. Ask your pharmacist for advice.
Some medicines must be stored in a fridge. If you are taking medicines that must be kept at certain temperatures, you can buy small cool bags from your chemist or pharmacy.
Be careful that your medicines do not freeze, because this may affect how they work. You can check with your hotel whether there will be a fridge in your room. If not, ask whether your medicines can be stored somewhere secure and kept cool but not frozen.
You may find it helpful to have a simple fridge thermometer to check the storage temperature. This should be 2˚C (36˚F) to 8˚C (46˚F) for medicines stored in the fridge.
Related pages
Taking your medicines at the right time
If you are travelling across international time zones, this is likely to affect the time you take your regular medicines. If the time difference is only a couple of hours, you may want to continue taking your medicines at the usual times (UK time).
If there is a time difference of several hours, you could end up taking your medicines at inconvenient times of day or night. It may be easier to change the times you take your medicines gradually to fit in with the local time. Your GP, practice nurse, pharmacist or travel clinic can help you plan how to do this.
Oxygen
If you use oxygen, make sure you arrange any supplies you need before you travel.
If you are planning a trip in the UK, you can arrange supplies through your usual oxygen provider. You need to tell them the dates you are travelling and where you will be staying. You must also check that the place where you will be staying can have oxygen delivered and stored there.
If you need oxygen on a flight or cruise, check with your doctor that you are fit to travel before you book your trip.
If you plan to fly, you may need a fit-to-fly test. Your GP can help you complete this. It shows whether you need oxygen during the flight. You should also contact your airline for advice. It is best to do this well before your journey. They can explain their policy about taking oxygen on the plane and whether you need a medical certificate.
If you are going on a cruise, contact the cruise company well in advance and tell them you use oxygen supplies. They can then advise you how to arrange this. Some cruise ships have emergency onboard medical facilities. But they are not usually free and are not included in the price of the cruise.
If you plan to travel to another country, you will need to contact an oxygen supplier for the country you are going to visit. You can:
- ask your usual oxygen supplier for advice about overseas oxygen providers that you can contact
- search online for a provider.
If you have a Global or European Health Insurance Card (GHIC or EHIC), you can use this to help pay for oxygen in some countries. You must use an authorised oxygen company for the country you are visiting.
Asthma + Lung UK has more information about travelling with oxygen.
About our information
-
References
Below is a sample of the sources used in our travel and cancer information. If you would like more information about the sources we use, please contact us at cancerinformationteam@macmillan.org.uk
GOV.UK. Guidance: Disability and travel abroad. Updated June 2019. Available from www.gov.uk/government/publications/disabled-travellers/disability-and-travel-abroad [accessed January 2023].
GOV.UK. The Green Book: Immunisation against infectious disease. Updated November 2020. Available from www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book [accessed January 2023].
National Travel Health Network and Centre. Travel Health Pro. Available from travelhealthpro.org.uk [accessed January 2023].
Travel and International Health Team, Public Health Scotland. Fit for Travel. Available from fitfortravel.nhs.uk [accessed January 2023].
-
This information has been written, revised and edited by Macmillan Cancer Support’s Cancer Information Development team. It has been approved by members of Macmillan’s Centre of Clinical Expertise.
Our cancer information has been awarded the PIF TICK. Created by the Patient Information Forum, this quality mark shows we meet PIF’s 10 criteria for trustworthy health information.
We want everyone affected by cancer to feel our information is written for them.
We want our information to be as clear as possible. To do this, we try to:
- use plain English
- explain medical words
- use short sentences
- use illustrations to explain text
- structure the information clearly
- make sure important points are clear.
We use gender-inclusive language and talk to our readers as ‘you’ so that everyone feels included. Where clinically necessary we use the terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ or ‘male’ and ‘female’. For example, we do so when talking about parts of the body or mentioning statistics or research about who is affected.
You can read more about how we produce our information here.
Date reviewed
Our cancer information meets the PIF TICK quality mark.
This means it is easy to use, up-to-date and based on the latest evidence. Learn more about how we produce our information.
How we can help