Think back to the last time you bought a car. Whether new or used, you probably did a little research and some road testing.
Well now, try being as meticulous about your cancer treatment. This suggestion might seem obvious but in the first stages of panic you might give way to despair without crediting your ability to study and analyze the situation and make good decisions based on what you’ve learned.
This is your life and it’s worth your while to put at least as much effort into researching your illness as you exerted in researching your last car purchase.
You know the name of your kind of cancer but what else do you know about it? Your doctor may have drawn a diagram and quoted some statistics about your chances of overcoming this, but go after more information on your own. This is the time to learn exactly the kind of treatments available and then to narrow down which one is right for you. Yes, your doctor will have an opinion but it’s your responsibility to understand the alternatives and double-check the doctor’s choice.
At first we vacillated between wanting to know everything or nothing. This passed quickly and we soon thirsted for every scrap of information.
When the doctor explained what Hal had and what probably would be done, we clung desperately to every word he uttered without crediting ourselves with the ability to get some facts on our own. Don’t bet your life on the opinion of one person; you must agree with what is being done. Since you’re all in this together, double-check the facts.
If your anxiety is compounded by memories of movies of a doctor solemnly saying, “There’s no time to lose,” Keep in mind that the unspoken part of that sentence is, “Unless it’s Friday,” when we all know that business everywhere, including hospitals grinds to a halt until Monday morning. Even wackier rules apply during summer vacation season, so give yourself time. Take a deep breath and marshal your questions.
When we were at this stage, computers weren’t the force they are now, there was no Internet and I had to rely on library research. It took longer but I found what I needed.
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