Oncscathed: 12 Questions to Ask Your Oncologist

1. What is the goal of the chemo ? Is this a cure ?
2. What are the chances that the chemotherapy will work for this cancer?
3. What chemosensitivity will you use to determine which chemotherapy agent to use ?
4. What is your opinion on supplements during treatment ?
5. What are my other options if I decline treatment ?
6. What lifestyle changes will I need to make to improve the outcome of the treatment and protect the body during the treatment ?
7. How will you nourish and protect the healthy cells while killing the cancer cells ?
8. What will the proposed chemotherapy treatment do to the cancer stem cells ?
9. How will you support my immune system during treatment ?
10. What will you do if I become resistant to chemo treatment ?
11. How will this treatment change the cancer environment ?
12. Would you give this same chemotherapy treatment to your spouse, your children, would you take it yourself ? If not, what would you do instead ?

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This list of 12 questions was handed to me soon after diagnosis, without attribution.

For a few days, I took them as a meditation object.

That, and the beginning of what grew into months of digging about all cancer therapies on the internet.

When I was done, I did not need to ask the questions.

Maybe someone else will find them helpful as well.

Photo from here.