Questions to ask after a diagnosis
Questions to ask after a diagnosis about Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour
- What type of cancer do I have?
- Which part of the body has the tumour affected?
- Is the tumour cancerous?
- What does a grade mean? And what is the grade of my tumour?
- Can you explain my pathology report?
- Should I get a second opinion?
- Does your practice include multidisciplinary care? What does this mean?
- Should we seek genetic testing or counselling?
- What is your familiarity with the tumour I have?
Questions to ask about treatment options for about Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour
- 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 chances for success with the planned treatments?
- What are the side effects of treatment, both short term and long term?
- Can I change my mind after we start the treatment?
- What will be the effects of the treatment on my daily life?
- Can I work, exercise and perform my daily activities?
- What about the cost of the treatment?
Questions about having targeted therapy/TKIs
- If I have surgery, should I take imatinib before surgery? For how long? What dosage? How much and how long after surgery?
- What factors decide how effective imatinib is likely to be?
- Will I receive this treatment at a clinic or hospital? Or will I take it at home?
- What can I do if imatinib stops working? Can I receive sunitinib if that happens?
- What can I do if sunitinib stops working? Can I receive regorafenib if that happens?
- Are there other targeted therapies that may work?
- Can I take the generic form of the prescribed drug?
Questions about Radiotherapy or Chemotherapy
- What kind of therapy do you recommend and why?
- How long will it take for a treatment?
- What side effects are 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 treatment?
- If I avoid treatment now, can I have it later?
- Will I get the same result if I took the treatment later?
Question about after treatment
- What happens after treatment gets over?
- How long will it take to return to my routine life?
Questions about cancer recurrence
- How will we know that cancer has recurred?
- What can be the symptoms and signs for a cancer recurrence?
- How can we reduce the risk of recurrence?
- What are the various ways to stay healthy after treatment?
Questions about follow-up care about Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour
- 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 and to my family?
