Tips for You from Patients

Cancer and its treatment are complex. Cancer care providers do not always provide the answers you need in a way you can understand, or when you are ready to hear or absorb it. Getting informed means learning what information you want (and do not want) and knowing how to find it.

Manage Information Overload at Your Appointments

Survivors explain that a lot of important medical information is given to patients when they first learn that they have cancer. You are not alone in feeling rushed or that you cannot manage the amount of information you are getting in your appointments.

These are tips from survivors to help you manage information:

1. Get as much information as you can in writing. Bring a notepad and pen to every appointment. Ask for pamphlets or handouts to read later.
2. Ask your health care provider to slow down, repeat information and don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you don’t know what to ask, then ask your health care provider to tell you what other people have asked about the topic.
3. Take the time to read through the pamphlets your doctor gives you and if questions don’t come to you right away, that’s ok. When they do come to you, call your doctor’s office to discuss or leave a message for a call back.
4. You are entitled to a second opinion if you feel you need one. Since some health care providers may take offense to this, you can ask your family doctor to organize the second opinion instead of your cancer health care team.
5. Bring family or friends to your appointments to help you digest information. Sometimes having a family member or friend present can also remind your health care team that you are a person who is loved and cared for by others.

Find Information from Other Cancer Survivors

Health related information can often be found in clinics, in pamphlets in waiting areas, in patient and family libraries and on the Internet. Information about living with cancer in the context of everyday life is often the biggest information gap because it is not addressed by the health care system. For many people, other survivors are the best source of information about everyday life with cancer.

Some survivors view support from other survivors as the best way of being informed. Places like the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and Gilda’s Club offer a peer matching program where you can connect with other survivors that have things in common with you. Some other ways of meeting with other survivors are through various online community networks of cancer survivors on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook.​