When making up your mind about treatment (Gestational Trophoblastic Disease), you must know every detail about the treatment you opt for. It would be best to ask questions as cancer can be a completely new domain for you.
Don’t forget to ask your healthcare team questions during and after the treatment.
Questions to ask after diagnosis
- What GTD do I have?
- Can you explain my pathology report?
- Where is the location of cancer exactly?
- What is the stage of my cancer?
- Should we go for a second opinion?
- What is your familiarity with the tumor I have?
Questions to ask about treatment options for (Gestational Trophoblastic Disease)
- What are my treatment options?
- Which treatment option do you recommend?
- What is the goal of treatment? Is it to eliminate cancer, increase chances of survival, 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 we change our minds after we start the treatment?
- Will I be able to become pregnant after treatment?
- Should I talk with a fertility specialist before GTD treatment begins?
- Do you recommend that I wait after treatment to try to become pregnant? If so, how long?
- Is it OK to use birth control pills or other methods during this time?
- What about the cost of the treatment?
Questions about Radiotherapy or Chemotherapy
- What kind of therapy do you recommend 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 about (Gestational Trophoblastic Disease)
- Is there any clinical trial available currently that 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 I avoid treatment now, can I begin it later?
Question about after treatment (Gestational Trophoblastic Disease)
- What happens after treatment finishes?
- How long will it take to live a 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 cancer recurrence?
- 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?
