Final Chemo Treatment -- Questions for Oncologist

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shc65
shc65 Member Posts: 1
in Colorectal Cancer #1
My husband has his final round of chemo this week -- if his blood work allows. We are meeting with his oncologist. In the past, when we meet with the doctor, I come with a list of questions. The answers are very vague and I feel a little brushed aside. Now we are coming to the end and I am a nervous wreck about what is next. I don't know what to expect.

Can someone provide me with questions to ask? Currently, all I can think of are:

1) When is the next appointment?
2) What is the purpose of this appointment?
3) How will you screen for recurrence?

Now I am stuck..............

Thank you.

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  • PGLGreg
    PGLGreg Member Posts: 731
    #2
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    Those 3 questions of yours
    Those 3 questions of yours seem good, to me. I think doctors tend to respond to specific health problems, so if your husband has any such problems, you could bring those up. If he doesn't have any apparent problem now (meaning, I guess, that there is currently No Evidence of Disease (NED)), that's great, but maybe the doctor can clarify what symptoms he might encounter down the road and what, specifically, you should do about them. (Call the doctor? At what number? If the doctor is not available, what do you do then? Go to the ER?)

    --Greg
  • taraHK
    taraHK Member Posts: 1,952 Member
    #3
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    frequency of future screenings
    And I guess related to your question number 3: how frequently will the screenings be carried out (for example, every 3 months, every 6 months).

    You are so smart to go armed with a list of questions. I find when I pull out my list, and a notepad and pen, it makes the doctors sit up quite smartly! -- they know you are taking notes!

    Good luck! Keep breathing out as well as in :)

    Tara

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