Traveling with Someone with Cancer

If you're just looking for a lab for the blood tests, a pharmacy near your hotel will be able to tell you where the closest location is. Also, the Lonely Planet guidebooks usually have comprehensive listings for tourist friendly medical facilities in the major cities.

I would advise that if you know that tests will be needed at specific dates that you make the arrangements for specific facilities as far ahead as you can. Think of our experiences here in the US: schedule an appt, have the doctor's order with you so they know what to draw and where to send the results; have your insurance card and/or payment with you, ID cards. Now, imagine that in a country where they don't operate in English, have completely different medical systems, may not be able to send the info to your doctor and may not be able to do specific specialized tests. Plan ahead as far as possible to make it as smooth as you possibly can and hopefully not spend an entire day of the trip trying to get this worked out.

I would look up this information on the US Consulates websites. They list English speaking doctors for most cities where your friend should be able to get tested. Find out how before hand how the Amer. insurance company is going to pay for this.

It may not be enough to simply find a lab facility. Labs are likely to require a doctor's order before they can draw blood. It's possible they may not be able to accept an order from your doctor back home. I think the best plan is to find a local GP or medical clinic that will accomodate you. I do agree with the previous poster that a local pharmacy may be able to give you some names. If you buy travel medical insurance - which your friend might do well to consider - those insurers usually have a referral network as well.

I'd suggest looking into the Intl Assoc for Medical Assistance to Travelers. They have contacts for providers. It's free to join, or you can make a contribution. The website is: http://www.iamat.org/index.cfm And while difficult to contemplate, your friend may also want to look into getting insurance that allows HER, rather than a clerk at an insurance company, to decide if she needs to be evacuated back home for further medical care. I have MedjetAssist insurance for that. Rates are quite reasonable, and you can get a short-term policy just to cover a trip. They're at: http://www.medjetassist.com/ Certainly take orders from his/her doctor, and make certain test names are spelled out (rather than abbreviated), so it's clear what is needed. He/she will also need to arrange who will be reviewing the test results and that person will receive them. And finally, I'd guess an organization like the Am Cancer Society might be able to provide good insight into how people travel under these circumstances... might as well learn from other's experience. Enjoy your trip!

Paris has an American Hospital.

One other thought: If you aren't fluent in the relevant languages, you might want to translate test names into those languges before you leave on the trip, just in case. Some supposedly English-speaking doctors have a pretty minimal grasp of the language.

Sherry, I have to thank you for your last two posts. I am sending this information to my sister.