Content Overview 
- Summary
- Let your emotions settle. A cancer diagnosis is usually not an emergency.
- Contact the doctor who diagnosed you or the doctor's nurse or office manager. Ask for a repeat of the basics, including how long you have to make a decision..
- Take time choosing a cancer doctor - generally a specialist called an Oncologist.
- Focus on getting the medical care you need. A patient navigator can help. Postpone major non-medical decisions until after treatment ends if possible.
- Learn the basics about your cancer.
- Decide whether you or someone else will be the decision maker about your health care. Learn how to maximize time with a doctor.
- Before deciding on a treatment, consider getting a second opinion. Understand the pros and cons of each possibility.
- Think of non-traditional treatments as complementary or in addition to - not instead of what your doctor has to offer.
- Decide who to tell about your condition, when, and how much to tell.
- Think of family and friends as part of your health care team. Ask them for help when you need it. Your health needs should come first, but also consider theirs. If you have underage children, tell them about your diagnosis in an age appropriate manner.
- If you work, whether you are an employee, business owner, or self employed, be cautious telling about your diagnosis right away. There is no legal obligation to tell. Consider taking some time to focus on your condition first.
- Share your emotions. Watch for depression. Consider seeking counseling. Keep busy while waiting for test results. You may also want to consider getting a pet if you don't have one (yes, a pet).
- Start looking at your insurance and financial situation to determine how you will pay for medical care. Even with health insurance, medical care can be costly. Free or low cost care is available if you are uninsured or underinsured.
- Attend to your financial basics. Pay your rent or mortgage and minimums on your credit card. Start keeping track of all medical services you receive and expenses you pay. Don't pay a medical bill just because you receive one.
- Financial assistance may be available if needed.
- Learn to be wise about purchasing, living with, storing and disposing of drugs. Free drugs may be available.
- Drugs and treatments do not work in a vacuum. Start to think of the food you eat, the exercise you get, rest/sleep and even proper care of your mouth as steps you can take to make treatments and drugs most effective.
- Speak with other people who are going through what you are.
- If you have underage children, tell them about your diagnosis in an age appropriate manner. Monitor their behavior. Arrange for their care in case something happens to you.
- Schedule a dental check up.
- If you want to have children, take steps to preserve your ability prior to starting chemotherapy or radiation.
- IF YOUR DIAGNOSIS IS AN ADVANCED STAGE OF CANCER OR AN UNUSUAL OR A RARE CANCER
- ONCE A TREATMENT DECISION IS MADE
Newly Diagnosed With Cancer
Focus on getting the medical care you need. A patient navigator can help. Postpone major non-medical decisions until after treatment ends if possible.
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It is preferable to be treated by a doctor who specializes in your health condition. Think about what is important to you in determining the ideal doctor to provide medical care about your diagnosis
- The more experienced a doctor is in your particular situation, the better.
- Interview several specialists and pick the best one for you.
Learn how to maximize your limited time with a doctor.
- Check to see if your mobile phone includes recording, If not, consider buying an inexpensive recorder so you can record your sessions and replay them later when you can listen without distractions.
- Locate a person to go with you to important doctor visits to help ask questions and listen. (Such a person is known as a patient advocate.) Sometimes emotions can impair your ability to hear everything that is said.
- Buy a fax machine or other inexpensive mechanism which allows you to receive and send reports.
- Start keeping a symptoms diary.
- Write down a list of all your medications, including over the counter medications --and keep it up to date. (We provide an easy chart that allows you to store your list and print it whenever you need it. To see it, click here.).
If you are going into a hospital, look for one that has a good track record with the procedure you need as well as a low rate of infection. If your surgeon doesn't operate in the preferred hospital, consider getting another qualified surgeon. Learn how to maximize your time in a hospital while doing your part to minimize the possibility of medical error
Start learning what you need to know about your health condition and what normally happens.
- When you do research, always consider the reliability of the information as well as whether the information provider has a self interest.
- Keep in mind that statistics only refer to groups of individuals historically and do not tell what will happen to you or any other individual.
- What happens to you will be unique to your specific set of circumstances.
- Even if the odds are a million to one, learn to approach your situation as if you are the one.
- Keep track of all questions that come up from your research, so you can ask your doctor about them.
- If research tends to increase your stress levels, ask a family member or friend to do it and to tell you what you need to know.
Decide who you want to make medical decisions if the medical path isn't totally clear. You? The doctor? A family member or friend?
- Medical decisions may not be as clear cut as you would like. There may be different medical treatments available. There may be gray areas. Medicine is a combination of science and art.
- There is a growing body of evidence that patients who participate in the decision making process do better than people who don't.
- If you have a family member or friend go with you to appointments with doctors, you will have someone you trust to with whom to discuss your options and needs.
- Understand that decisions and recommendations may change as facts change.
Think about so called "alternative" therapies such as massage, visualization, psychological therapy, and aromatherapy as complementary to Western style medicine instead of "either/or."
When a treatment is suggested:
- Ask:
- Why the doctor recommends the particular treatment, and not the alternatives.
- Whether there are any studies concerning the effectiveness of the recommended treatment.
- Get a second opinion.This practice has become so standard that doctors are not offended when patients ask for second opinions. Insurance companies generally pay for second and even third opinions.
- Ideally a second opinion should come from a doctor experienced with your condition who is not in any way related to the doctor who gave you the first opinion.
- If you have difficulty getting the appointment with another doctor, ask your doctor's office to help.
- If the two opinions differ, continue to get opinions and do research until you are comfortable making a decision. On the other hand, don't let a search for certainty provide a reason to put off making a difficult decision.
NOTE:
- Expect to hear lots of advice and stories from friends. Keep in mind that this information is "anecdotal," rather than scientifically generated. It is frequently irrelevant to your own experience. If you don't want to hear what friends have to say, or want to limit the amount or kind of information they give you, let them know.
- It is wise to postpone making big decisions that do not relate to your health care until you are calm emotionally and your thinking is clear. It is quite natural that your thinking is impacted by your diagnosis. You may not return to a more "normal" emotional state until after treatment ends. The treatment, or drugs you take during treatment, may have an affect on your thinking as well.
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