Staying informed about progress in the care of people with your type of cancer will help you. At the very least, you will better understand your follow-up. In addition, depending on how comfortable you feel with medical information, knowledge will help you participate in your own care.
Much as you may want to forget that you had cancer, it is to your advantage to think about your cancer occasionally. You may be at risk of recurrent cancer. You are at risk of developing cancer that is totally unrelated to your prior cancer (having cancer does not make you immune to other types of cancer). You may be at risk for future medical problems related to your cancer or your treatments. Learning about your cancer may enable you to decrease your risks.
Every year new information becomes available about
• the causes of cancer
• the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of cancer
• the prevention and treatment of aftereffects
Doing research on cancer is not for everyone. You may be someone who works best with your doctors by leaving all the decision making to them. You participate in your care by being faithful with checkups and coming in for any new problems. Trying to learn about the medical issues just causes anxiety and confusion, and does not help you. Your doctors will let you know what you need to know.
On the other hand, you may feel most comfortable learning as much as you can about your cancer. You may prefer to play a more active role in the gathering and processing of information and in the decision making. Continued learning allows you to be as involved as you desire.
Keeping up will help you discuss advances that affect you. For instance, a new screening test may become available for diagnosing a recurrence of your type of cancer. If you are knowledgeable about it, you can participate in the decision of when and how to use it.
In many circumstances your personal needs and desires are a little different from what is routinely recommended for patients in your situation. You may be very interested in participating in a clinical trial, no matter what the expense, risk, or inconvenience. Since it is impossible for your oncologist to keep up with every available trial for every type of cancer, you may want to do some research yourself.
At every visit your doctor draws conclusions and gives advice. Your doctor can arrive at his or her recommendations with as little or as much input from you as you like. Use your knowledge, be it a little or a lot, to be partners with your doctor. But remember the old adage that you cannot be your own doctor. Share your questions and information with your doctor, and let him or her come to a conclusion. You are best served if, ultimately, you trust your doctor’s advice.
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