Here are some questions you can ask with meeting with your doctors
- What type of cancer does my child have?
- What is the stage of the disease?
- What does this stage mean?
- What are the treatment choices at this point?
- What treatment(s) do you recommend and why?
- How long will the treatment last?
- What are the chances that this treatment will be successful?
- How will we know if treatment is successful?
- What are the both the short-term and long-term risks of the treatment?
- What side effects will our child experience as treatment is taking place?
- Are any longer term side effects anticipated from this treatment?
- What role should or could we play in our child’s treatment?
- Since we need to be with our child during treatment, can the hospital help us find accommodation? (as appropriate and required)
- How can we help our child prepare for this treatment?
- What’s the very best way we could support our child through the treatment?
Note:
Bring a pad and paper with you during the meeting. Take notes. It is often a good idea to take a small recorder with you and ask if you can record the meeting, that way you can review everything that was discussed later.
Useful Links:
American Brain Tumour Association
Clic Sargent
CureSearch
Macmillan Cancer Support
PubMed