Colorectal Cancer: Managing Your Medical Care: Diagnosis to Treatment Decision

A growing body of evidence indicates that patients who actively participate in their health care do better than patients who don't. The great majority of "how to" books and articles by long term survivors talk about the importance of the following:

• Be pro-active. (The other sections of this document help you learn how).
• Keep in mind that no one cares as much about your health and well being as you do. It is your job to make the health care system work for you. The medical system calls you a “patient” – but you do not have to be patient. A pro-active person would instead think of himself or herself as a partner.
• Adopt a cancer preventive diet and lifestyle in addition to using available treatments and drugs. (It may be easier to adopt such a lifestyle if you think of it as part of your lifelong treatment – and if you start making changes a little at a time instead of all at once).
• Get emotional support. It helps make medical decisions and care easier, as well as day-to-day living. Emotional support is available in a variety of ways. (See Emotional Well Being.)

Having no regrets is important for emotional well-being. For survivors, this seems to depend far more on having gone through a reasonable decision making process than on whether or not the outcome was the one desired.

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