Resources: Cancer
Because I sat with my dear sister through her whole year-and-a-half with cancer, I became all-to-familiar with the questions and heart-wrenching concerns regarding treatments and the dream of survival.
There are voluminous resources discussing cancer, and I will not even pretend to offer ample information about it here.
But, Hospice Nurse Julie has an informative, direct, succinct list of questions one should ask if diagnosed with cancer. I find her list to be very helpful, providing a valuable cheat-sheet when talking to your oncologist.
Here’s her web site about all things “death and dying”: https://www.hospicenursejulie.com/
And here’s her youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@hospicenursejulie
Hospice Nurse Julie Poses Essential Questions for Those Diagnosed with Cancer
She says, “I’ve thought about this before, and here is what I would ask if I got diagnosed with Cancer.” Julie urges patients to be straightforward with their oncologist, and to ask them to be straightforward with you, too.
Here, she lists her questions…
- What are the statistics of this cancer?
- Is it a rare cancer? A common cancer?
- Is there a common, standardized treatment for this cancer?
- What are the survival rates? 2 Years? 5 Years? 10 Years?
- Where am I at in this cancer? What stage am I in?
- Is this cancer terminal? Am I going to die from this cancer? If so, what is the typical length of life remaining?
- What is the progression of the disease, typically?
- How is this going to affect my life?
- What are the typical symptoms with other patients?
- What are ALL the treatment options… including NOT treating the cancer?
- What if I don’t do treatment?
- What are the symptoms I’m going to have because of this treatment, and how will you help me with those?
- How long is this treatment going to last and what is it going to entail? Chemo every week? Radiation every day? Multiple surgeries? How long is the downtime?
- IV or a port for chemo?
- If I do chose treatment, what is my survival rate? How long might it extend my life?
- What’s my quality of life during treatment, and then after treatment?
- What do the doctors see with their patients?
- Is the treatment really worth it?
- Would you, doctor, be open to putting me on Palliative Care or Hospice eventually?
- Do most of your patients eventually go on Palliative Care or Hospice? If so, when?
- Is my cancer life-limiting or not?
- If you, doctor, don’t recommend NOT treating the cancer at all, then WHY?
- What is the “standard of care” for this type of cancer?
- As I go through treatment, are my symptoms normal? What can I expect along the way?
- Why am I feeling certain symptoms and how can the doctor help with those?
- Are these symptoms short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic)?
- What would the Doctor do if he/she, or their mother, were diagnosed with this cancer?
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