Hello All
I was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma last November. I had a mole on my leg removed 10 years ago and I now have cancer in my lymph nodes in my groin, my stomach and in my lungs.
They tried immunotherapy first but I had every side effect going, infections, pneumonia, colitis…… so I am now on plan B, Mektovi and Braftovi tablets, which after a few early hiccups seem to be working and I feel well. So we’ll infact that the Oncologist has said that if my scan in August comes back OK I can consider going abroad. Now I know that travel insurance will be expensive and also I’m not sure if I am allowed to take my meds in to certain countries, can anyone advise please?
Hi Alanis and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I’m Anne, one of the Community Champions here on the Online Community, and I was diagnosed with melanoma nearly 9 years ago. I didn't need further treatment after the WLE and SLNB but I know how tricky getting travel insurance can be.
The online community is divided into different support groups so I'm going to recommend that you join the travel insurance group where you'll find lots of recommendations for travel insurers to try.
To join, just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined have a look through the threads there called 'Recommended Travel Insurance' and Recommended travel insurance 2023-24', which you'll find on the first page. They are full of recommendations from other cancer patients who have got travel insurance.
You might also like to join us over in the melanoma group as you'll then connect directly with others who have metastatic melanoma.
As for whether there are any restrictions on taking your meds abroad, I find the easiest way is to just Google the question, ie "can I take......into Australia, for example. You should make sure that any medication you take is in it's original packaging with your name and address on a label on it. You usually also need to have either a letter from the doctor prescribing the medication or a copy of your prescription with you.
It would be great if you could put something about your diagnosis and treatment into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
