When making up your mind about treatment, you must know every detail about the treatment you opt for. It would be best to ask questions about anything about cancer that you don’t understand.
Don’t forget to ask the healthcare team questions during and after the treatment.
Questions to ask after diagnosis
- What type of leukemia has been diagnosed?
- Can you explain my pathology report?
- What subtype of CML do I have?
- May I know the results of the bone marrow aspiration? What does this mean?
- May I know the results of the cytogenetic studies done? What does this mean?
Questions to ask about treatment options
- What are my treatment options?
- Which treatment option do you recommend?
- What is the goal of treatment? Is it to eliminate cancer, help me feel better, or both?
- What are the success chances with the planned treatments?
- What are the side effects of treatment, both short term and long term?
- Can we change our minds after we start the treatment?
- What will be the effects of the treatment on my daily life?
- Can I work, exercise and perform daily activities?
- What about the cost of the treatment?
Questions about Radiotherapy or Chemotherapy
- What kind of therapy do you suggest and why?
- How long will it take for a treatment?
- What side are effects expected during and after the treatment?
- What are the long term effects of the treatment?
- How can you prevent or reduce these effects?
Questions to ask about surgery
- What type of surgery will I have?
- How many procedures of this type has the surgeon done?
- How long will the operation last?
- Is the surgery safe?
- How long do I need to stay in the hospital?
- What are the short-term and long-term effects of the surgery?
Taking part in a clinical trial
- Is there any clinical trial available currently I can take part in?
- How does being a part of the trial change my treatment option?
- What is the aim and background of this trial?
Choosing not to have treatment
- Can we opt not to have any treatment?
- What are the possibilities if we decide not to take any medicine?
- If we avoid treatment now, can he have it later?
- Would the aim and result be the same if I took the treatment later?
Question about after treatment
- What happens after treatment finishes?
- How long will it take to live everyday life?
Questions about cancer recurrence
- How will we know that cancer has come back?
- What can be the symptoms and signs for a cancer recurrence?
- How can we reduce the risk of cancer coming back?
- What is an approach to stay healthy after treatment?
Questions about follow-up care
- What are the follow-up tests?
- How regularly do I need to visit the oncologist?
- Who will have my treatment summary, and how can I take them and a survivorship care plan to keep in my records?
- Which survivorship support services are available to me? To my family?
