You have a lot of thoughts racing through your mind post-diagnosis and you might not be ready to make a decision. Also, the cancer world could be brand new for you and you’re not yet sure what the best course of action is for you.
Take the following advice from the Mayo Clinic to help wade through those unfamiliar waters:
- Let your doctor know how much you’re comfortable knowing. It could be easier to handle the truth and fight a hard battle or you could want to take a more pleasant route and decide how you feel without knowing your chances of survival.
- Decide if you want to leave the decision-making up to your medical team or if you want to make the decisions and work it out with your doctor.
- Choose the options you’re most comfortable with.
- Keep your eye on the main prize (your survival) rather than focusing on the discomfort you feel due to certain treatments.
- If your cancer is advanced and you’re tired of focusing on the cure, focus on comfort and do whatever you can to make yourself feel better day to day.
- Research your cancer and treatment options so you can participate in the medical conversation should you choose.
You’re going to learn a lot about your body and your disease very quickly so deciding how much you want to know and how involved you want to be in your treatment plan early on will help make the process more manageable in the long run.
Source:
Mayo Clinic
