Few words can be as scary as when you’re doctor looks you in the eye as says “you have cancer.” Fear of the unknown and worries about worst-case scenarios can drive you into a tailspin of depression and anxiety.
“It’s overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s hard to get a handle on what you should know and what you should ask,” said Terri Bogan, a certified nurse navigator with the St. Elizabeth’s Women’s Wellness Center.
What are nurse navigators?
These associates work directly with patients, sitting in on their appointments and serving as their point of contact as questions later arise. It’s one of the programs St. Elizabeth offers to support its patients during a time when questions are just as important as answers.
“Once patients have been diagnosed, we send them home with a packet of information and forms to fill out prior to meeting with their doctor again, including their medical history, their prescriptions and basic health information that will be important for us to know,” said Brogan.
The packet also includes a long list of suggested questions for them to ask each doctor as their treatment progresses.
“It’s a rather large section of questions, and not all will pertain to them specifically, but it’s a starting point. We’ll go through the list with them by the time they have their first appointment, so they go in knowing what they need to ask,” she said.
How to approach your first post-diagnosis appointments
Your first few appointments go a long way toward determining how doctors progress with your treatment, medical experts have a few suggestions for you:
- Give your oncologist complete information
A medical history, if your doctor doesn’t already have it, is important. As is the list of medications you take, including over-the-counter products that may not appear in your electronic medical records. Vitamins, herbs and supplements could interact with chemotherapy drugs and other medicine, so it’s important that your doctor has the full picture.
- Ask for a prognosis
Patients tend to ask about their disease and the course of expected treatment, but can be timid when asking about their recovery outlook. Doctor can’t say with 100 percent certainty “” a lot depends on the type of cancer a patient has and how advanced it is “” but he or she will give the best answer possible. Even some cancers that can’t yet be cured have treatments to improve quality of life. Knowing is better than living in a fog.
- Request information about clinical trials
If conventional treatments aren’t working as well as hoped, consider clinical trials that may work better. St. Elizabeth has been nationally recognized for pairing patients with clinical trials.
- Don’t go it alone
Brogan said she and her colleagues always encourage patients to bring a family member to their appointments. They can provide emotional support and take notes on what the doctor is saying.”You’re really only going to remember certain parts of what we tell you. There’s a lot of information,” she says. “So it’s really important to have somebody else there who can help recall what your conversation with the doctor entailed, what questions he answered and what questions you’ve asked.”
