chemotherapy medicine import to China

[Catherineli]

Da Jia Hao! My friend has a question for you guys. Can she bring some chemotherapy medicine to China by plane? such as Oxaliplatin Eloxatin, Xeloda Capecitabine, and Femara Letrozole. Will these medicine have to be prescribed by a doctor? What if she goes to a hospital for such prescriptions?

 

Looking forward to your help, xiexie ge wei !

Catherine

[Randy W]

Da Jia Hao! My friend has a question for you guys. Can she bring some chemotherapy medicine to China by plane? such as Oxaliplatin Eloxatin, Xeloda Capecitabine, and Femara Letrozole. Will these medicine have to be prescribed by a doctor? What if she goes to a hospital for such prescriptions?

 

Looking forward to your help, xiexie ge wei !

Catherine

 

 

I expect she wouldn't have a problem bringing it through herself, but they've been much more strict about requiring prescriptions for drugs ordered by mail as of Jan., 2013.

 

We had to scramble to get a prescription for my blood pressure medication when they held it up at customs - since then, I've just bought what I can get locally.

[Dennis143]

My wife's friend asked if we could acquire and send her a certain chemo drug for her breast cancer. So sad, so desperate to get help.

 

First, because the demand is so small, these medicines are extremely expensive. Second, only a doctor can obtain them, as they're not sold over the counter and or through the internet and you should be very suspicious if you did find some through those means at an affordable price. Lastly, these must be administered by a qualified health professional, as they are normally given in an IV drip over several hours. The frequency would depend on the type of cancer being treated.

 

BTW, the term "chemo" is a broad term meaning a cocktail chemistry of drugs designed to treat and target a specific cancer. As an example; my wife's blood disease was treated with the chemo drug called Rituxan.

 

This was taken from one of the online pharmacy sites that sell Rituxan:

Specialty medication

This drug is considered a specialty medication, which means:

• It is very expensive. A typical fill can cost $5,778 or more for 8 vials (10ml) of Rituxan 10mg/ml.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Dennis143 (see edit history)

[Catherineli]

Xiexie Randy and Dennis! Very helpful! The price of the same medicine here in China is ten times more expensive than those available in America.

[warpedbored]

Xiexie Randy and Dennis! Very helpful! The price of the same medicine here in China is ten times more expensive than those available in America.

It's probably even less expensive in Canada.

[Dennis143]

Speaking of drugs, I have been supplying Sildenafil pills to a Chinese woman who takes them to China and resales. I buy 500 100mg tablets at ~$150. I sell them to her for $2.00 ea. I don't know what she sells them for, but I guess at a pretty good profit. I make a bit over $800 with each 500 tablet transaction. And, so far, she's been asking for a new 500 tab supply about every other month. I'm surprised that Chinese pharmacies don't have this available or maybe the quality is suspect? Meanwhile, I will continue to assist in China's new baby boom.

[yuehan123]

Can she bring some chemotherapy medicine to China by plane? Will these medicine have to be prescribed by a doctor? What if she goes to a hospital for such prescriptions?

 

Bring by plane? Sure, and the liquid may even be allowed in the carry on. TSA says this about liquid medicines:

 

" Declaring Medically Necessary Liquids

Travelers who bring medically necessary liquids in excess of 3.4 ounces or medical accessories such as freezer packs, IV bags, pumps and syringes to the checkpoint must inform the TSA officer at the beginning of the screening process. TSA suggests, but does not require, medication be clearly labeled to facilitate the screening process. If a traveler does not want a medically necessary liquid to be X-rayed or opened for additional screening, the traveler must inform the officer before screening begins.

Screening Medically Necessary Liquids

TSA officers may test medically necessary liquids for explosives or concealed prohibited items. If TSA officers are unable to use X-ray to clear these items, they may ask for the container to be opened and may also ask the traveler to transfer to a separate container or dispose of a small quantity of liquid, if feasible. If the medically necessary liquid cannot be X-ray screened or opened, officers may be required to take additional steps to clear it as well as conduct additional screening, which may include a pat-down of the traveler and screening of the remainder of the traveler’s accessible property."

 

http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/medically-necessary-liquids-gels-and-aerosols

 

I, personally, would not want to try and get some liquid labeled as "Hazardous" through security, nor would I risk losing it due to confiscation during TSA baggage inspection or damage by in-flight freezing, or plain old theft.

 

If somebody's done it......

 

Prescribed by a doctor? Yes, and delivered to and administered only by specially trained facilities as stated above.

 

Go to a hospital? Oh, well, get a diagnosis first and then get admitted for treatment. Not likely.

[Catherineli]

谢谢约翰！！