Traveling With Your Medications

Whether you are in active treatment, or on medications following active treatment, or need medications for health problems unrelated to breast cancer, traveling can be a challenge if you need to go through security checkpoints.

Should you choose to put your prescription medications in the luggage that you check in at the airport or cruise terminal, you risk of being separated from needed medications due to lost luggage.

Delayed delivery of your luggage can sometimes happen on cruise ships due to the sheer volume of luggage to be delivered to ship’s cabins.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests these precautions for air, ship and any distance travel where being without your prescription medications, for any length of time, would be a health risk

• Pack your medications in a carry-on (carry with you) bag, so they don’t get lost.
• Bring a list and keep it in your carry with you bag of your prescriptions, including brand and generic names.
• Have a letter, on your doctor’s letterhead, with his or her  prescription for any controlled substance or medication that needs to be injected
• Be sure that a family member or friend, at home, has an extra copy of your prescriptions for your medications

• If you are going to be traveling internationally, check beforehand with the American Embassy or Consulate to ensure that your medications are allowed in the country you will be visiting.