Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you've been recently diagnosed with bladder cancer, you probably have many thoughts running through your head and you may feel unable to think clearly. Your doctor will understand this. You should feel free to ask questions about any concerns you may have.
Be sure to take a pen and pad with you, as you probably won't remember all the answers. If the doctor uses words you don't understand, ask for an explanation.
You have the right to have your concerns answered. If your doctor does not have time to give you all the information you need, the nursing staff in his or her office may be able to answer your questions. You may also want to ask if any patient literature is available.
If possible, bring a spouse, friend, or relative with you. They can take notes from your conversation with the doctor. You may even want to tape record your discussion so you can replay the answers to your questions at a later time. Of course, you must first ask your doctor's permission to do this.
Here is a list of questions you may want to ask. These are only suggestions; you should feel free to replace any or all with questions of your own about your cancer.
- What type of cancer do I have?
- How far advanced is my bladder cancer?
- Do you know how quickly it is likely to grow?
Tests
- What tests do you recommend?
- What information do you get from each of these tests?
- How soon will I get the results of these tests?
- What does each of these tests involve? How should I prepare for them?
Treatment
- What is the recommended treatment for my stage of bladder cancer?
- Can I enroll in a clinical trial? Would I receive better medications?
- If I don't have insurance coverage, what are my options?
- Where can I get the best treatment for my bladder cancer?
- When should I start my treatment?
- If I have treatment, will my cancer return?
- If the bladder cancer comes back, can it be treated successfully?
- Will it make a difference if I change my diet?
- Are there any lifestyle changes I can make to improve my prognosis?
Stage 0
- Is the safest course of therapy the most aggressive?
- Should I have surgery and adjuvant therapy (treatment given after surgery to try to prevent a recurrence)?
- How do I decide whether or not to have adjuvant therapy?
- If I decide to have adjuvant therapy, how do I choose between Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) treatment and chemotherapy?
- For chemotherapy, which drug should I take?
- Is BCG treatment painful? If so, how will my pain be managed?
- Should I consider interferon alpha?
- Should I consider supportive care?
Stage I
- Do you recommend surgery followed by BCG treatment?
- Is BCG treatment painful?
- For chemotherapy, which drug should I take?
- Should I consider interferon alpha?
- Should I consider supportive care?
Stage II
- Is it still possible to cure my cancer with surgery?
- What does "'combined modality treatment" mean?
- Which are the advantages and disadvantages of chemotherapy alone, radiation alone, and chemotherapy plus radiation?
- Should I consider neoadjuvant (before surgery) or adjuvant (after surgery) therapy?
- Are there any new therapies for this condition?
Stage III
- Is it still possible to cure my cancer with surgery?
- Is it better for me to have chemotherapy before surgery?
- After surgery, should I have both chemotherapy and radiation therapy?
- Should I consider either chemotherapy or radiation therapy, instead of both?
Stage IV
- How do I know which combinations of chemotherapy are best for me?
- Are any new combinations or treatments being tested?
Recurrent Bladder Cancer
- What combinations of chemotherapy do you recommend?
- Are any new combinations or treatments being tested?
- Will I also need surgery?
- Are any new drugs available through clinical trials?
- Would high-dose chemotherapy work for me? How will it make me feel?
- Do you recommend supportive care?
Surgery
- How many days will I have to spend in the hospital?
- Will the surgery be painful? If it is, how will my pain be managed?
- How will I feel after 1 week? Two weeks? One month? Six months to a year?
- What are the possible short-term and long-term side effects of this surgery?
- How soon afterwards can I go back to my normal routines, such as returning to work (or school), exercise, and so on?
- When will I know if the surgery was successful?
Chemotherapy
- What are the names of the drugs that will be used?
- Why do you recommend those particular drugs? Is there evidence that they are more effective than other chemotherapy drugs?
- How many treatments will I need?
- How will the treatments be given and how often?
- Can I go home after each treatment?
- What will I feel like after my treatments?
- Will I be able to work (or go to school)? Get back to my normal routine?
- What are the possible side effects of these treatments?
- Will my hair fall out? Will I be nauseous? Will I be exhausted? Will I get mouth sores?
- Is there anything I can do to lessen the side effects?
- If I am taking chemotherapy, can I eat all kinds of foods? Can I drink alcohol?
- Can the cancer spread while I am on chemotherapy?
- Will chemotherapy affect my sex life?
- (For women): Will chemotherapy affect my chances of getting pregnant and having a normal baby?
- (For men): Will chemotherapy affect my chances of fathering a child?
- Will chemotherapy or any other treatments affect my urination?
Radiation
- What areas of my body will be treated with radiation?
- How many treatments will I have?
- How will I feel after the treatments?
- Will I be able to work? Take care of my spouse and children?
- What are the side effects of radiation?
- Is there anything I can do to lessen the side effects?
- Can I eat anything I want during the weeks I have radiation? What about alcohol?
- Will the treatments affect my sex life?
- (For women) Will radiation affect my chances of getting pregnant and having a normal baby?
- (For men) Will radiation affect my chances of fathering a child?
This content has been reviewed and approved by Myo Thant, MD.
This content was last reviewed
August 15, 2010.