What information should I trust?
Information about cancer from the internet, the press, and your friends can be accurate, biased, incomplete, speculative, premature, irrelevant. Sorting out what’s helpful can be a real challenge. Science changes its mind when presented with enough contrary evidence. This is its main strength. Always demand evidence and be skeptical of any claim that can’t be […]
What are the cancer risks for family members?
There is some variability from one type of cancer to another. In a general sense, having a first-degree family member (sibling, parent, child) with a common cancer; this typically does increase an individual’s risk of developing that type of cancer by 2-3 fold.
Is cancer treatment poison?
Just like any other medicine, many vitamins, and alcohol – cancer treatments can indeed be poisonous. Whether something becomes poisonous or not is a matter of the dose, and how it’s used.
Will I lose my hair?
Some forms of intensive chemotherapy can cause hair loss. We’ll tell you if this is something you should expect. Most forms of radiation therapy don’t cause hair loss. Whole or partial brain radiation is an exception, and may result in hair loss.
Should I get a second opinion?
You can’t get very far with your healthcare team if you doubt whether you’re getting good advice. It’s natural to doubt and second-guess any scary diagnosis – like cancer. And you want to be sure nothing important is being overlooked. Getting a second opinion at the beginning can go a long way to putting those worries and second-guesses behind you, so you can focus on the road ahead. If the thought of a second opinion ever occurs to you, go ahead and ask for one. How your doctor reacts to a request for a second opinion is also a good test of whether they’re trustworthy. Medicine is supposed to be collaborative, and any good doctor will be more than willing to have the diagnosis and recommendations reviewed by someone else. So if your doctor is reluctant or annoyed about getting a second opinion, you should probably work with someone else.
Should I join a cancer support group?
Yes. It really is that simple. You think you don’t need it, or won’t benefit from it. You’re mistaken. Try it. You may not need it for long. Maybe only once will be all you need. But no one other than a group of people going through the same thing will ever understand. Not even your doctor.
Do I need to change my lifestyle?
Lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol, diet, and obesity can help cause a cancer. And it’s never too late to start making healthier choices. But making sudden and dramatic changes in factors that helped start a cancer can’t change the course of a cancer that’s already developed – any more than blowing out the match that started a forest fire can affect the fire once it’s going.
Does insurance cover the cost of clinical trials?
Yes, typically insurance plans are mandated by federal law (the Affordable Care Act) to be covered by commercial and government insurance plans.
Who can see my medical information? (HIPAA)
Medical providers directly involved in a patient’s care has access patient specific medial information. The only other people who are able to view a patient’s medical information are those that are expressly granted that permission in writing by the patient.
What types of advance directives are there?
The most basic advanced directive that everyone over age eighteen needs is a Healthcare Power of Attorney. This legally designates who you want to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so. Despite the name, you don’t actually need an attorney to complete one. Without a Healthcare Power of Attorney, if you become incapacitated some states require you to go through a long, expensive legal guardianship procedure before any medical decisions can be made on your behalf – even if you’re married or have a loving family. The next most common type of advanced directive is a Do Not Resuscitate order, which simply states that in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest you wish no effort be made to revive you. Other forms of advanced directives provide general guidance about the kinds of care or interventions you would (or wouldn’t) want, and under which circumstances. These can be as simple as a set of instructions you write up yourself, or as complicated as a long document you develop with the assistance of an attorney. One easy-to-use and inexpensive form is the Five Wishes document, which walks you through a series of simple questions that clarify your healthcare wishes in certain circumstances. The Five Wishes document is available online for a small fee. You can also have your healthcare wishes formalized as binding medical orders that take effect when the stated circumstances occur (e.g. if I suffer a massive stroke and go into multi-organ failure I do not want to receive dialysis). These conditional orders can be created by you and your physician and are called Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST).
