Right from the time you hear the cancer diagnosis, the medical team has to get a lot of new information across to you and your family. This isn't always an easy process, either for you or for your doctor. Each stage of cancer care involves a tremendous amount of information that is generally unknown to the lay public. And all too often doctors use technical terms that any non-medical person has trouble understanding. Yet open and clear communication has become an essential part of a good medical relationship.
Cancer is a family affair. One member gets the disease, but the whole family goes through the experience. So it is very important that both you and your family know and understand all aspects of your disease. You should know how it is treated, what side effects there might be and how you best can cope. Trying to learn how to deal with your new life situation may improve how you cope with your treatment program.
The Initial Visit Exactly where and how you find out about the diagnosis isn't always up to you. Yet this first confrontation with the fact that you have cancer can affect your relationship with the disease, your doctor and the medical system.
Most doctors realize that difficult problems come up when someone is told he or she has cancer right in the recovery room after biopsy surgery. No one can fully appreciate what's going on in those circumstances. Most doctors also dislike telling someone he or she has cancer over the phone. It's very traumatic and it doesn't help the relationship. So doctors often try to make sure you are in a proper emotional state and have time to ask questions and discuss various aspects of treatment.
