When Linda Davies was told in the summer that she had terminal cancer her thoughts quickly turned to spending quality time with her family and friends.

Taking a holiday with the people she loved became so important that simply surviving long enough to spend a fortnight in Tenerife became one of her central goals.

Travelling, stressful at the best of times, frequently presents daunting obstacles for the severely ill. From negotiating with an airline about your onboard needs to booking specialist accommodation and finding an insurer willing to offer cover, arrangements can become a mine-field of costs and complications.

Yet for many terminally ill people, travel takes on a pivotal importance – whether to die in a particular place, see relatives or simply spend time with loved ones.

Mrs Davies said: “I had pancreatic cancer diagnosed in July and they said I only had months to live. The holiday was with my husband, who has given up his job to be my carer, along with two of my three adult children and almost 20 friends. We booked in September and went last month. I wanted to aim for a goal.”

Mrs Davies, 52, now an inpatient at Mount Edgcumbe Hospice, part of Cornwall Hospice Care, said that the organisation had been “absolutely fantastic”. It arranged permission from the Home Office for her to take essential drugs out of the country, and offered advice and support in preparing for the trip. The additional medication it gave her became vital when, three days before she was due to return, the pain in her stomach flared up badly. “The extra drugs that I took enabled me to get home rather than go into hospital in Tenerife,” she said.

Carole Cooper, 45, also knows the benefits that holidays can bring, for both herself and her son Ryan, 8. After contracting breast cancer eight years ago, she discovered in 2004 that the disease had spread to her lungs, liver and bones. She was determined to see the world with her child. The pair have since clocked up lots of air miles visiting beaches, friends and Disneyland Paris. Miss Cooper said: “It helps me so much – I need fewer painkillers, my appetite picks up – and Ryan can interact with other children, which it is harder for him to do at home because I am ill.”

Now the duo plan to spend Christmas in Egypt and staff at the Princess Alice Hospice in Esher, Surrey, have been on hand to help. They also arranged for Ryan to go on a group holiday to Salisbury last summer. Miss Cooper, like Mrs Davies, represents a side of the work funded by Help the Hospices that few people who are not in their situation even know about. Kathryn Myers, however, is well aware of its importance. A consultant in palliative care and author of Help the Hospices’ factsheet Flying Home or on Holiday, Dr Myers said it was only the help of hospice staff that made travel possible for many patients.

She said: “It is only in a hospice context where there is enough time, expertise and the organisation to arrange it – it can be very complicated. Hospices have international contacts with other hospices, and can deal with airlines, doctors in foreign countries and the authorities.”

For more information or to download Flying Home or on Holiday, visit www.hospiceinformation.info.

–– KPMG, the professional services company, will match all donations to Help the Hospices made through The Times appeal.