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Posted by Hope on October 19, 2009, 10:03 pm, in reply to "Need your input:"
we had this long list of questions to ask your onc about chemo, rads, diagnoses, prognoses, etc. It was great and we'd add to it so all anyone had to do was print it up and have someone go with them to fill in the blanks so they could read it over lata on. Shoot, wish I knew what happened to it.
Johns Hopkins has a great rep so she's in good hands there. I suppose the first thing I'd ask is what their protocol for her type and subgroup of cancer is. Then if it can be done closer to home or if she's a candidate for a trial (if she wants one). I'd ask her stage as well and any stats he/she can give regarding how well their patients are doing. Also a list of patient names that would be willing to talk to her about this doc and any documentation of how well their patients are doing on his/her treatment plans.
That'd be the first thing tripping off my tongue. Also, it's really important that she have someone go with her. In this day and age of independent women, it's easy to say "nope, I can handle this myself!" but honestly, it's a lot of stuff to take in and things get lost in discussion. It saves a lot of headaches and phone calls with nurses if someone can write everything down or she can take an mp3 player (does she have an iphone? They do great for that) to record the entire visit. Someone with her could be in charge of that as well.
Lots of stuff to deal with as a newbie. It helps to have someone else do the paperwork, listening for all the answers, recording, writing, etc. Our brains tend to stagger at the part where they say "cancer" and then get stuck there. 
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