Hi, I am fairly new to CML only diagnosed in September, I am now taking Imatinib and all seems to be going well. At my hospital appointment today I told my Dr I had a holiday to Egypt booked for January ( booked before diagnosis) he intimated I should cancel the holiday but as of yet I haven't taken out holiday insurance! (big mistake) I really want to go and would like advice please, thanks.
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Hi Sue,
I know it's tough - but you should listen to your doctor on this one. Being a pretty regular visitor to Egypt over the years, it's not somewhere that you want to really be if you run into complications. However, it's not like you are due to travel next week.
I went through a similar thing to you when I was diagnosed. I was diagnosed in November, and had a trip to Hong Kong in March. My doctor wasn't too keen on me going but we agreed that if my blood counts were of an acceptable level then I would be able to go. My blood was checked a few days before planned departure, and they were just about OK so it was agreed I could go ... but to take it easy!
Since you don't have travel insurance, you don't seem to have much to lose going with this approach. Wait until nearer the time - there's quite a bit of time between now and January - and hopefully your blood work would be good enough to go when the time comes.
But again, Egypt is not Hong Kong and with low neutrophils (for example) it's a place you could pick up really nasty food poisoning, could be hospitalised and at your own expense - never mind other complications. And any travel insurance you bought now would not cover you. It could be very tricky.
David.
Thank you David for your response, your advice has been very helpful, I just want to feel "normal" again but realise I should take my condition seriously, as I said I am new CML and think I still haven't quite got my head round it all,
kind regards, Sue
Don't give up hope of going on the holiday - you might respond quickly and be OK to travel. But you might not be. Just keep an open mind, and treat it as a great bonus if you can go ... but try not to be too disappointed if you can't. Always put your health first and foremost, now with CML this is more important than ever.
David.
I was in a similar situation. Fully booked once-in-a-lifetime trip to South Africa booked months in advance, and then one month before departure - boom - diagnosed with leukemia. My doctor was a hard "no" on me going right from the get-go, but doctors are always going to be ultra conservative... they have nothing to gain in telling you "sure, its fine, go". Anyway, I asked him what could possibly happen and he eventually relented and said if your WB counts are back to normal by the time you're set to leave, you're probably going to be ok, barring some sort of bad reaction from my TKIs. So I took my pills, got my wb counts tested literally 3 days before I flew out, and ended up going on the trip.
Not going to lie - I had a few days of severe bone pain, and spent one full day pretty sick (ended up being food poisoning, I'm pretty sure, and not a leukemia/TKI reaction) - but I would go back and do it all over again in a heartbeat. In the end, its your life. You have to weigh the pros and cons and decide how important this trip is to you. Everything is a calculated risk, one way or the other.
Good luck!
I'm in a similar situation right now - Imatinib since 2 months, holiday book next week - and I definetly go on the trip, no matter what.
I agree on previous repliers opinion "doctors are always going to be ultra conservative... they have nothing to gain in telling you "sure, its fine, go" and that after all it's only one life, so live it :)
Your trip to Egypt is still far away, so you can be positive about that you will feel much (much) better by then - and infections/bacteria can be avoided by some preventative means.
I was diagnosed in June, like you I had a week holiday plan for Iceland, I was hospitalized, treated, came home. few days before vacation, nose bleed, hospitalized again, received blood, platelets etc. Glad we cancel , imagine if that happen while away. Now second vacation. Blood test normal, dr says need blood test every two week instead of ever week. Ok vacation. All is well, doing great, will live normal life. Two weeks go by, feeling tired but mark it to spyrcel side effect, find breathing more difficult that normal. Sure enough, blood test all counts low, back for transfusion. Now off tablet, blood work yesterday, normal red, white, platelets and neutrophils low. Glad we cancel our China trip, flight was yesterday actually. Both holidays were booked before being diagnosed. We won't be booking any holidays until after a year of treatment, I find that my blood count can change within a week. Did nothing differently, it was the Spyrcel. When I plan my holiday, I'll choose somewhere where I can get a blood test if I feel things aren't normal. It's the neutrophils that worries me. We've travelled to over 120 countries, never been sick during travels. Future trips will not be 6 or 7 weeks, max 30 days.
Hi everyone
I just thought I'd weigh in on this topic... Travelling is my life and is the thing that helped me cope best after my diagnosis, and I refuse to let my CML prevent me from doing what I enjoy most. I was diagnosed in November 2015 and two months later travelled to Zambia to see the Victoria Falls. Since then I have been to Azerbaijan, Scandinavia and Estonia, and I'm planning to visit Morocco in December. I'm not in MMR yet after almost two years and I continue to worry about my CML, but the travelling has really helped - I time it to be after my three-month checks to give me something to look forward to.
By all means we should take our doctors' medical advice, but this disease doesn't have to be life-changing if we feel well enough to still enjoy what life has to offer!
Best wishes to everyone
Martin
Hi there,
Are you UK based? Many member of this forum have had success with World First. Perhaps try there? Individual circumstances with CML vary, of course, so it may or may not be a good idea to travel. If he's doing well I hope you can find decent cover.
Regards,
David.