What UK and EU patients are actually facing
It helps to start with the situation many patients are trying to solve, separately from any one provider. In England, the NHS standard is that 85% of people referred urgently with a suspected cancer should start their first treatment within 62 days of referral. That target has not been met since December 2015. Through 2025 and into early 2026, the figure has hovered around 69–72% — meaning roughly one in four patients waits longer than two months from urgent referral to the start of treatment (NHS England, Cancer Waiting Times; Cancer Research UK).
In much of the EU the public systems are strong, but access to the newest targeted and immunotherapy drugs, to molecular tumour profiling, or to a sub-specialist for a rare cancer can still mean a queue. None of this means the care at home is poor — it usually is not. It means that, for some people, weeks matter, and the question "could I start sooner somewhere else, and is a second opinion worth it?" is a reasonable one to ask. The rest of this guide answers the next question: if you do look abroad, how do you choose the country?
An honest country comparison
There is no single best country for cancer. The right choice depends on your diagnosis, your budget, how fast you need to start, and where you can realistically travel. The grid below is deliberately fair to the strongest destinations first. Costs are not quoted as fixed prices — no honest figure exists until a specialist reviews your case — so the column describes the cost basis, the structural reason a country tends to sit where it does.
| Country | Accreditation | Cost basis | Speed to start | Logistics & visa for CIS patients | Language of care |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Strong national regulation; many university hospitals; some JCI-accredited centres | Higher; among the more expensive in Europe | Fast access to newly approved oncology drugs and clinical trials | Schengen visa needed; well-trodden medical-visa route | German; English at international offices |
| Israel | World-class oncology centres; internationally recognised research | High | Very strong in complex and rare cancers | Visa rules vary by nationality; longer-haul logistics for some | Hebrew/English; Russian widely spoken in major centres |
| South Korea | Excellent technology; several JCI-accredited hospitals | Mid-to-high | Strong screening and surgical volumes | Long-haul flight; visa and distance are real barriers | Korean; English; little Russian-language service |
| USA | Leading research centres; the global benchmark for many trials | The most expensive option, often by a wide margin | Excellent for trials and rare disease | B-2 medical visa; longest, costliest journey | English |
| Türkiye | More than 35 JCI-accredited hospitals — among the most in the world (JCI directory) | Typically the lowest of this group for comparable accredited care | Days, not weeks, to a consultation and a plan | Visa-free for many CIS nationals (incl. Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan); short flights | Turkish/English with full Russian-speaking patient service |
Read the grid honestly. Germany gives you the fastest legal access to brand-new oncology drugs and a deep clinical-trial network. Israel is genuinely world-class for complex and rare cancers. The USA is the global benchmark for cutting-edge trials. If your case needs one of those specific strengths and you can afford it, that is where to look.
Türkiye's edge is not a claim of "better medicine." It is a different combination: price (typically the lowest of this group for accredited care), speed (you can usually start within days), more than 35 JCI-accredited hospitals to choose from, short flights and visa-free entry for many CIS patients, and a fully Russian-speaking service around the medical care. For a large number of patients — especially from the CIS — that combination is what actually removes the barriers to starting treatment.
Starting within days, and getting there safely
Speed is the reason most people look abroad, so here is how it works in practice with us. You send your records; a coordinator reads them personally — not a call centre — and selects two or three relevant department-head professors at JCI-accredited hospitals. A tumour board reviews your case, typically within 72 hours, and you have a free remote second opinion with a professor before you decide anything. If you choose to travel, treatment can begin within days of arrival rather than after a months-long wait.
For patients who are too unwell to fly commercially, medical transfer is possible. To be clear and honest about this: BergemHealth does not operate aircraft. Air-ambulance transfers are arranged through licensed third-party operators with their own medical crews and aviation authorisations, and any such transfer is only ever arranged when a doctor confirms it is safe and appropriate. We coordinate it; we do not pretend to be the people flying the plane.
Free for you, and not an aggregator
Two things make us different from most of what you will find when you search "cancer treatment abroad."
The consultation and second opinion are free for you. Reviewing your records, arranging the tumour board, and giving you an honest opinion costs you nothing. There is no charge to find out whether travelling is even worth it for your case — and sometimes the honest answer is that it is not, and we will tell you so.
We are not an aggregator or a lead-selling marketplace. Your request does not get sold to the highest-bidding clinic or dropped into an automated queue. BergemHealth is a medical concierge founded by Anna Moroz, with 12 years in Turkish medical tourism, working through direct relationships with department-head professors at JCI-accredited hospitals. You deal with the same people from the first message to your return home. And whatever stage you are at — including palliative care — we give an honest second opinion and point you to real support. We never pressure you.
How it works — four steps
- Send your records (free). A coordinator reads your case personally — pathology, imaging, and discharge summaries. Russian and English are fine; we help with the rest.
- Tumour board & second opinion (within ~72 hours). Two or three relevant professors review your case and you get a free remote second opinion before deciding anything.
- A plan and a transparent estimate. The professor sends a medical plan; against that plan the hospital issues an estimate on letterhead, in USD or EUR. No surprise charges along the way.
- Travel, treatment and follow-up. If you choose to come, a coordinator is with you at appointments, and your treating professor stays reachable for follow-up after you return home.
Reviewed by a practising professor
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis — only a doctor who has seen your records can advise on your case. The medical content here is reviewed by the BergemHealth medical team, and every second opinion we arrange is given by a real, practising department-head professor in the relevant cancer specialty, not by a coordinator or a salesperson. That is the whole point of asking for one.
If you want a starting point, the most useful next step is a free second opinion. Send your records, and a professor will tell you honestly what your realistic options are — including whether treatment abroad makes sense for you at all.