When it comes to making decisions about your life, it doesn’t get much tougher than choosing which treatment option is best for you if you’ve got cancer. In this blog, we talk about things that can help you make your decision. The information here is from our booklet Making treatment decisions, which you can order now for free. The full booklet has lots more information about how to weigh up your options and get the information you need. It also covers research trials, dealing with uncertainty and using statistics.
Sometimes, there is only one treatment option and the benefit of having it clearly outweighs any potential side effects. In this case, the decision may be more straightforward, although there’s still a lot to think about. At other times, it can be more difficult to decide, for example if you’ve got more than one treatment to choose from, each with different benefits and risks, or if your treatment is not aiming to cure the cancer but to control it. There’s a lot to consider, so it's important to make sure you’ve got all the information you want before you decide.
You may need to consider:
The doctors and nurses treating you will encourage you to be involved in your care. You can make decisions about your treatment together.
To help you make a decision about treatment, it’s useful to know a bit about your cancer, how it’s affecting you and why you need treatment. Your healthcare team will be able to tell you:
It can help to know what each treatment involves and how the options can differ. It’s useful to know:
Your healthcare team should be able to answer your questions.
The internet can also be a good source of information. However, it’s important to make sure that any information you use has come from a reliable source. Use Macmillan’s online cancer information to find out about your type of cancer and about different treatments. Some hospitals have cancer information and support centres where you can use the internet and somebody should be available to help you.
It can help to find out about other people’s experiences. Everyone’s situation is different, but other people can tell you what it was like to have the treatment, how they felt and what helped them to cope with any side effects.
You can use Macmillan’s online community to join groups and meet other people with the same type of cancer as you, who you can talk to about treatment.
Most cancer treatments have side effects, and having treatment is likely to affect your day-to-day life. You may be unable to work or continue your usual social life for a while. It’s important to discuss your treatment fully with your healthcare team, so you’re aware of how it might affect you.
Your healthcare team should also be able to give you an idea of how long your treatment will last and how often you’ll need to visit the hospital.
Knowing all these things about each treatment option can help you decide which is best for you.
Don’t be afraid to ask your healthcare team any questions you have. You need to have all the information you want in order to make your decision. You could ask:
There are practical thinking tools you can use to take a step back and think clearly about your life, which can help with decision-making. You can find examples, stories and support with using the tools at thinkaboutyourlife.org
It can be difficult to make a decision about something so important. These five steps might help:
There is no right or wrong decision. Everyone has different priorities, concerns and circumstances, and these all contribute to your individual decision. The most important thing to remember is that the decision you make is the right one for you at that time.
The Macmillan team is here to help. Our cancer support specialists can answer your questions, offer support, or simply listen if you need a chat. Call us free on 0808 808 00 00.
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