…with the Oncologist tomorrow.
I haven’t asked any Q’s yet, but can someone give me a nudge as what I could expect?
Thank you :o) x
Hi Etticks
I hope all goes well for you tomorrow.
I am recovering from my last chemo so it has been a long road.
Thinking back to last October I asked the oncologist a lot of questions that she couldn’t answer at the time. With hindsight I would have asked more technical questions such as what I would be treated with and why one regimen rather than another. You will probably have a follow up with a chemo nurse as well who will talk about side effects and literature to take away and absorb.
It is worth asking who you will be seeing each time: for my appointments I saw a different person each time who measured tumour without having met me before. If possible ask to see the same oncologist as this helps you feel that you are being monitored properly.
It may seem a small consolation but chemo has been do-able. My treatment has been relatively event free.
Best wishes,
Sue
Bring a notebook and pen with you, write everything down.
I had loads of questions, and most of the ones I’d written were answered by the long explanations they gave first, so I didn’t have to ask many questions afterwards anyhow. But if you write it down - or bring someone with you who can write fast! - then you can concentrate on what’s being said, and you can look at the notes afterwards and go over things.
I would ask about schedules. How often, what day, and if you’re having other things like radiotherapy, Herceptin and Tamoxifen or any other hormones, when do THEY start relative to the end of chemo. I forgot to ask how many sessions of rads I’d be having, and now I can’t work out when I might be able to book some time away in the school hols, silly me!
Best of luck tomorrow. You will feel SO much better when you know what the plan is.
Hi
Some questions i asked which may or may not be relevant:
Could i take sleeping pills with the chemo? (at the time i had the odd one due to the stress of the waiting but now don’t need them)
Should i have the flu jab? If so do i have enough time before i start? (i did as did all my immediate family)
Other questions probably came up as the session went on.
I actually had more for the 2nd session as i’d received the follow up letter at that point, which had loads of abbreviations and measurements about my cancer and wanted to be clear about what they meant.
Be careful if you Google though. My status was described as 0, which on some patient satus charts means dead!! which i’m clearly not, but different hosp use different charts.
best of luck. x