Questions to ask Dr when starting treatment

 and a warm welcome to the board. The first few weeks are very stressful but once you have a treatment plan in place then things will honestly feel a bit better. I’ve attached a link to a booklet about bowel cancer with spread and there’s a page about questions to ask which may help?

https://bowelcancerorguk.s3.amazonaws.com/Publications/TreatingAdvancedBowelCancer_BowelCancerUK.pdf

Please let us know how you get on and we’ll be happy to help you through this

Take care

Karen x

Hi 

I would say the first oncologist visit they wanted to go into the various options on how they treat a stage 4 diagnosis and how they manage and achieve the balance around treatment /quality of life etc .

My mum also indicated at this juncture she was happy to receive their care and would be fully compliant with it where possible but she opted not to discuss a prognosis. She found that unhelpful and  stated that at the start of the meeting so she set the direction of that part . It’s entirely up to you but if you don’t want to it’s a good opportunity to say so early on .

My mum wanted to know information on who to contact and when it would be appropriate to contact the hospital over her own GP who in my mum’s case remained an integral part of her care .

She also wanted information on the approach she could take on maintaining her life . What was a sensible approach to infection control etc .

You might also like to ask about remain active during treatment as the research coming through seems to indicate it has a role .

Do you have enough information on your cell type or would you want more ? Do you have any current symptoms that you want their intervention on ?

If I was being very honest the first was a bit overwhelming but the good news , it got easier . A routine was established and trust and relationships built . 

Click on my user name if you want to read how my mum navigated a stage 4 diagnosis with her team . 

One other thing my mum did where possible set small achievable goals that keep you connected with your own life .

We are here for you to reduce some of the fears around this .

Take care ,

Court 

Thank you so much for this. This has been really helpful. I must admit this is very daunting and I want to try and be as thorough as possible and make sure I am doing as much as I can to be knowledge. This is a great start, thank you x

Thank you that is very helpful x

https://bowelcancerorguk.s3.amazonaws.com/Publications/TreatingAdvancedBowelCancer_BowelCancerUK.pdf

Have I linked in this booklet before ? Forgive me if I have but this is a good overview on treatment options if you want to prepare for you oncologist chat it helps you adjust to the language used in the various treatment options /cell types etc .

I found the more familiar with it all the less intimidating it became .

All the best ,

Court