Newly diagnosed - what do I ask my oncologist?

Hi ,

There are so many of us living with stage 4 on this forum and in groups like "Living with incurable cancer". It is scary to get the news but dont despair, there are plenty of positive stories around. It is good you are tolerating chemo well and that  there are other options too. It is hard to advise anyone on what to ask - we all want different levels of information. Just asking what the current plan is important. Some people ask for prognosis, but I have never wanted to ask that - it is a statistical average only and can be unhelpful. Living with cancer is perfectly possible and hopefully for a good while. Good luck with the meeting and hope you get the answers to whatever you want to ask.

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Hi I was diagnosed in October 2020 with hormone positive BC, 2 weeks later I was diagnosed with secondary lung, liver and bone cancer. I asked my oncologist: how long did I have, would I still be eligible for a mastectomy, how long will treatment last, why am I been given a bone infusion, why am I been put on hormone suppressants. I guess everyone is different. Due to my age (31)they also wanted to protect my ovaries incase I want anymore children (I don't I'm happy with 2!)after talking to my oncologist we decided it was best that we bring on early menopause to restrict the growth of the cancer.

Do you have a BCN? Mine call me every 3-4 weeks to check up on me, however you should have been given a number to call if you ever have any questions and I've found they've been able to help in between my oncolgist apps

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Thank you xx

Thank you xx

Hi, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 BC 18 years ago and secondary BC in September 20. I have never asked for a prognosis as I need to be able to cope with the here and now ( which was hard both times. We all deal with this in out own wsys but I got through the last few months reading the posts on this group before I felt able to participate. I was boosted by the positives on this forum but also felt I wasn’t alone when side effects raised their ugly head ( much much  better now) as everyone has had something. You will get there on this journey xxx