klang hospice January 2009 m.yoong
Frequent Asked Questions - when diagnosed with cancer
Usual questions asked -
- where is the cancer
- how much cancer is present
- how aggressive is the cancer
- how far the cancer has spread
- how has the cancer affected the patient's physical condition.
- whether there is any effective treatment for the cancer
- what is the cost of treatment - surgery, DXRT, chemotherapy, "new" drugs.
And common medical terms used to describe cancer -
- primary - where the cancer arises from
- metastases - where the cancer has spread
- stage - how far the cancer has spread (e.g. stage 4 - widespread)
- low malignancy - less aggressive, takes a long time to reach an a advanced stage
- high malignancy - aggressive, disease rapidly reaches a terminal stage
Medical terms are usually confusing to the lay person, and very often cause misunderstanding of the disease, treatment options and prognosis.
Ultimately what's most important to a patient newly diagnosed with cancer is -
- Is the cancer "treatable" in its present stage.
- If "treatment" is possible, what are the expected results of treatment in terms of life span and quality of life. And also what are the side effects of treatment
- If "treatment" is not possible (or the patient does not want treatment), what will happen with respect to life span and quality of life. (i.e. pain and other sufferings)
TeL: 33242125, 332344740, Fax: 33243125
email: hpsklang@gmail.com
website: http://www.hospiceklang.org