Cancer treatment abroad
Patients affected by PALEMA’s “emergency cancer” diagnoses need to be able to receive evidence-based treatment or to find appropriate clinical studies abroad if Swedish treatments are not sufficient. Our mortality rate is high and few treatments are available, compared to other cancer diagnoses, so all possibilities need to be utilized.
To find treatment abroad, the person affected needs to be active themselves or together with a support person. We encourage a good dialog with the treating physician and cooperation between the home clinic and the treating unit abroad. Treatment abroad should be seen as a complement to public treatment. Of course, we prefer to receive the treatment in Sweden, close to home, but in some cases it may be worth going abroad.
This is not very common today with public healthcare support, but we still want to raise the issue of healthcare abroad as a possibility and hope that this will become easier to achieve in the future.
Here we have gathered some useful information and we want to build on it as we gain experience.
Planned treatment abroad through Försäkringskassan
Not everyone is aware that it is possible to receive treatment abroad and receive reimbursement in various forms through the Swedish Försäkringskassan. Cancer treatment is an example of when treatment can be so urgent that waiting times in Sweden are too long.
There are different ways of applying: prior authorization, prior notification and compensation afterwards. You can ask Försäkringskassan to help you decide which option is best for you.
The right to seek healthcare abroad applies in the EU/EEA and Switzerland. The right to what treatment you can seek is determined within the different regions of Sweden. However, according to the EU, the rights are quite far-reaching, for example if a treatment cannot be offered in the home country.
The links below provide information (in swedish) on the application process and how to find contacts for the National Contact Points for Health Care in different countries.
Planned specialist care abroad
This applies to Region Stockholm, but other regions have something similar according to national guidelines. Information in swedish.
My Cancer Navigator / Anticancer Fund
A cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming for you and your loved ones and leave you with many questions. My Cancer Navigator (an independent information service from the Anticancer Fund) offers personalized, science-based information about cancer and treatments in easy-to-understand language, completely free of charge. Their goal: to help you navigate through this challenging time.
They can offer the following in English, Dutch or French:
- reliable information about your type of cancer,
- clarifications on test results,
- clear explanations about treatment options,
- an overview of clinical trials you may be eligible for
- nuanced reviews of unregulated therapies and complementary care
- support to prepare questions to discuss with your doctor.
Clinical studies abroad
Clinical trials can provide the opportunity to access treatments before they are approved and are also available abroad.
Read more about this on the clinical trials page HERE.
Contact and support
If you need any help or ideas, feel free to contact us at PALEMA and we will try to support you.
If you have experiences of care abroad or have applied for support from the insurance fund, please get in touch as we want to collect experiences to help each other.
Just fill in the form below and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
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