Decision Making While Emotional

Making any decision about your cancer treatment can be an emotional experience. You'll need to remind yourself that because you're the person with cancer it may be difficult for you to hear everything that your health care provider is saying to you. What you do hear may be difficult to process.

There are several practical strategies you can implement to get through this difficult time:

• Bring someone else with you to your appointment.

• Bring a tape recorder to the appointment.

• In advance of your visit, prepare a list of questions to ask your health care provider; ask other survivors for questions or information about your treatment options.

• Seek a second opinion about treatment options.

• Take some time to consider the information you have been given before you make a decision.

It is normal for you to feel scared that you might not make the right choices. Remind yourself that you are doing the best you can to make the right choices for yourself, and that there may be more than one right answer to your specific need. It's important to be able to talk with your health care provider and to share how you are feeling about making treatment decisions.

Remember, just as cancer acts differently in each person, each cancer patient's treatment must be customized for that person.

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