4 Questions to Ask Your Physician When You’ve Been Diagnosed with Cancer

Being told you have can­cer can be a scary and stress­ful time in your life. You prob­a­bly have many ques­tions and are unsure of where to start or what to do first. There are many trust­ed web­sites with can­cer infor­ma­tion, but your physi­cian and care team is the best source, and best place to start, for infor­ma­tion on your diagnosis.

When speak­ing with your physi­cian, it helps to know what ques­tions to ask to give you a base to under­stand your dis­ease. Every can­cer and diag­no­sis is dif­fer­ent and indi­vid­ual, so it is impor­tant to learn and under­stand your situation.

Here are the top 4 ques­tions you should ask your oncol­o­gist upon receiv­ing a can­cer diagnosis.

1. What kind of can­cer do I have and where is it located?
2. What stage is the can­cer — and what does that mean?
3. What are my treat­ment options (surgery, radi­a­tion, sys­temic, etc.)? What do you rec­om­mend and why?
4. What are my chances of sur­vival based on the type and stage of can­cer I have?