Take Someone With You

When you go to see the Specialist or Consultant. Not just for the car park.

I found that when I was told that I had Cancer that I hadn't really got any questions to ask about it. It was a bit of a shock, not unexpected, however, any questions I had I hadn't written down either.

So write down any questions you may have. If you get hit with bad news you may not know what to ask anyway, so ask what to do if you have questions when you get home. Whoever has come in with you may well be able to start asking questions giving you enough time to ask your own or to seek clarification on the next steps.

I was better on the second meeting and on the third but there were still some questions I missed or glossed over. As the person diagnosed - your mind is in a spin and not functioning as you'd expect it to - take someone with you and let them do some of the thinking for you.

Read the literature they give you and try not to look up some of the stuff on the Internet unless it is from reliable sources (Other NHS departments have stuff online for example). As I've said before some of the forums can be especially worrying but they are generally full of people far worse off than you are. Those who survive and get treated and cured have no reason to stay in those forums so be aware of that.

Here endeth the lesson!