 Selecting
A Therapy
Getting
Additional Opinions
When
to Go to a University or Cancer Center
Getting
Rehabilitation
Considering
Alternative Medicine
What
To Avoid
SELECTING
A THERAPY
Consider the risks
and benefits based on your own values. Carefully consider
your age, health, and personal desires. Each decision for
treatment must be based solely on what you think is best for
you.
If all the doctors you’ve consulted agree
on a particular treatment, your decision may be clear. If
they do not agree on the treatment, ask them to discuss your
disease with one another and develop a clear recommendation
for treatment. If they cannot agree, it is probably because
there is more than one equally effective therapy. When the
scientific literature reports only a small difference in the
results among treatments being offered, there is little likelihood
of one treatment having a real advantage in any particular
case. Choosing the therapy when no treatment has a clear advantage
is very difficult. There may not be a single correct answer.
When the choice is entirely yours, it is equally valid to:
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Make your decision
based on personal and individual reasons such as side
effects, preferable cosmetic results, or risk of dying
from the selected procedure. |
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Follow the advice
of the doctor with the most experience in your cancer. |
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Seek another
opinion. |
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Join
a clinical trial (a medical investigation) that is
trying to find out which treatment is best. Participants
in clinical trials are randomly assigned to the “best
standard treatment” or the investigational treatment
that doctors hope is an improvement. |
GETTING
ADDITIONAL OPINIONS
You have the right
to obtain copies of all your test results. You should have
copies of them unless your doctor has already sent them to
the person from whom you are seeking a second opinion.
You or your doctor can arrange second opinions.
You may want a second opinion to confirm the original diagnosis;
help identify the primary site of cancer if it has not yet
been found; help identify or choose among treatment options;
or make yourself more comfortable with your doctor’s
initial recommendations.
To arrange a second opinion, you can contact
a number of sources. Ask your oncologist or primary care physician
for a recommendation. Call your county medical society for
the names of specialists, or call a teaching or university
hospital. The Bay Area Tumor Institute also has a list of
physicians participating in clinical research.
A tumor board is a group of cancer specialists
that meets to discuss treatment options and coordinate a patient’s
care. These consultations may or may not be free. Ask your
physician if you would benefit from a tumor board presentation
at your hospital or at a university referral center. Your
doctor should be willing to set up such a presentation for
you if there are any possible alternatives to the recommended
therapy.
WHEN TO
GO TO A UNIVERSITY OR NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE - APPROVED
COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER
Before thinking about
going to a university or NCI-approved cancer center, you should
know that most common cancer cases can be as successfully,
and perhaps more comfortably, treated in your community hospital
if the appropriate cancer specialists are available.
If you have been told you have a rare cancer
that requires highly specialized equipment, or physicians
with specialized training are not available in your community,
you should go to a specialized cancer center.
GETTING
REHABILITATION
Cancer and its treatment
can lead to changes in physical ability. As rapidly as possible,
you want to get back to your normal activities with your family,
job, friends, and hobbies. Talk to your doctor and nurses
about physical, occupational, or speech rehabilitation.
CONSIDERING
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
There is no scientifically
documented proof that nutritional therapies, acupuncture,
homeopathy, aromatherapy, Eastern medicines, or other alternative
therapies will cure or help treat cancer. This is not to say
they should not play a role in your cancer treatment. If you
are interested in alternative medicine, be sure to inform
all of your doctors so that the different approaches can be
coordinated for you.
When considering alternative treatment options,
here are some questions to ask the practitioner:
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What is the
main focus of the treatment? |
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Has this treatment
been evaluated in scientific trials? If so, in which scientific
journals was it reported? |
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What training
and experience do you (the practitioner) have? |
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How much will
the treatment cost? Will my insurance company pay? |
Be cautious if the practitioner clam the treatment
is harmless and painless. Most successful treatments are
very powerful and may have unpleasant side effects. Also,
does the treatment have a secret formula known only to the
provider? Reputable scientists and medical professionals
have no secrets.
WHAT TO
AVOID
Don’t allow
yourself to be financially and emotionally exploited by doctors
or others who say the medical establishment “persecutes”
them, or by anyone who offers either a “magic cancer
cure” or expensive “cures” found only in faraway
places.
Continue
to “Dealing With Problems”
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