My beloved has just been diagnosed with aggressive bladder cancer. He had surgery last Thursday and the doctor didn't even come check on him before discharging him home. We have an appointment later today and don't know what questions we should be asking...we have NOTHING but what we've looked up on the internet to go on, as they never debriefed us as after procedure...just gave us paperwork. Can anyone suggest useful-meaningful questions to ask when we see him today. Please...someone who knows what we should be asking...I feel so scared.
Hi Bobby's girl, as others say there may be clues to help you in the paperwork but just in case you are seeing the surgeon soon I'd say the basics are: (get them to repeat any jargon in plain english)
What do you mean by aggressive cancer? Eg needs urgent treatment / strong meds / both
Specify preferred options and what they mean for patient
Which option gives best results in terms of cure/ life expectancy/ quality of life
If it were your father facing this what would you do then? (Makes them see you as a person not just a patient)
How long does the treatment take and what side effects are likely?
Would other surgeons recommend anything different?
Can we meet other patients who are going through/ have gone through this?
That's mainly what I asked when in your situation plus what I've learnt after my treatment and hearing from others on here.
As far as info is concerned they may give you some at the meeting however the Macmillan website has wonderful material on bladder cancer that you can download and trust. Ignore all info on Google unless from proper medical or bladder cancer sites.
Good luck and all the best
Latestart
Ps some of my cancer cells were 'aggressive' and I'm living a good life after treatment so don't despair
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