Prostate Cancer - Questions to Ask Your Doctor
When you first learn that you have prostate cancer, you will be in a state of shock. Following are the different stages of the patient when he diagnosed with the prostate cancer.
Prostate Cancer Patient Stage I – Denial
The first reaction for many people is “It must be a mistake!” This stage is called denial. We always believe that other people get cancer, but we never imagine that we ourselves will.
Prostate Cancer Patient Stage II - Anger
The second reaction is, “Why me?” We get angry the seemingly raw deal that we have gotten from Life, or from God. This stage is called anger.
After all, haven’t we lived a decent life, and don’t we deserve something better than the pain that this illness will bring?
Prostate Cancer Patient Stage III - Bargaining
A third stage comes along, called bargaining. We bargain with God, asking him to take away the disease in exchange for going to church more regularly or being nicer to the people around you.
Prostate Cancer Patient Final Reaction - Acceptance
And lastly, there is acceptance, when we at last accept the limits of our mortality, accepting the fact that people get sick, people die, and sometimes there just isn’t any sense to it all.
Amid all these emotional stages, there is another stage that is going on, a process that can have strong effects on how a person acts in response to the illness – the prostate cancer treatment itself. Prostate Cancer Treatment is almost never simple or pain-free, particularly if the cancer involved is in its superior stages.
Since a prostate cancer patient has to undergo so much, it is important that he or she find a partner that can help them during the tough time. In between the patient and the physician, a partnership must be formed. They must lend a hand through the pain, if there is to be any possibility for success. The patient must tender to the proficiency of the doctor, while the doctor must do all he can to meet both the patient’s physical and emotional needs.
As a patient, you must know as much about your condition as your doctor does. Here are some of the questions that you should gravely consider asking when you meet with your physician.
- How can I prepare for treatment? What do I do?
- Will the treatment be conducted inside or outside the hospital? Will I need to stay?
- How will the treatment affect my life? In what ways will it affect my body?
- Will my sex life be adversely affected?
- What will the treatment cost? Will my insurance policy cover it?
- Would you recommend that I participate in a clinical trial?
- What is the status of the disease? Has the cancer spread? What can you tell me about the tumor?
- What are my choices concerning treatment? Which do you recommend for me, and why?
- What are the benefits to be derived from each treatment? What are the chances of success?
- What are the disadvantages and risks connected to the treatment? What are the side effects?
By communicating with your doctor on a significant basis, the chances of you beating prostate cancer are noticeably increased. If you have any worries about your progress, give voice to it. Primarily, doctors are just as anxious as you are for progress. Once you are able to form a partnership with your physician, you have taken a noteworthy step in the direction of your future well-being.
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