TOPIC:
What to Tell Your Oncologist
Tell your oncologist everything! Your oncologist can only help you with symptoms and issues if you provide enough information. Anything you withhold could be treatable and you might suffer for no good reason. No detail about your body and/or mental functioning is too small or not important. Let your oncologist decide what to do with your symptoms and issues. Every time you see your oncologist, have a piece of paper in your hands with this information so you can remember to bring up all of your important points. As your treatment progresses, you might have new or different issues. Give this information to your oncologist in a systematic way.
Write out and give your oncologist the contact information for all other doctors you are seeing, especially your primary care physician. Remember: people who want to help you can write these things down for you. Tell them what to write.
Why give these things in writing? Because many doctors are primary visual processors. When you write/type things, the doctor may see connections, patterns or issues that they could miss if you are just talking to them.
Tell your oncologist:
about ALL your allergies, even environmental ones.
about any sensitivities you have, such as to adhesives or odors.
about ALL your symptoms and changes even if you think they are not important.
about ALL your bodily and mental changes, even if you think they are not related to your cancer or treatment.
about fears, confusion, anxiety, inability to concentrate, restlessness, and/or sleeplessness or excessive sleepiness.
about ALL your medications and prescriptions. Write out and share the dosage and when you take it. Give that paper to the oncologist and other providers.
about ALL vitamins, supplements, fish oils, minerals, etc. This includes herbal teas, foods that contain herbs and aromatherapy oils. Write out the dosage amounts, brand names and when you take or use them. Remember that many foods now contain added vitamins, minerals and herbs. Read your labels and be sure you KNOW what you are taking and eating. These chemicals can interact with or interfere with your chemo treatments even if they are “all natural” or “organic.”