Questions to Ask Your Doctor

It is important that you fully understand the potential benefits, side effects and goals of radiation therapy. Your radiation oncologist and radiation oncology team are available to answer any questions that may rise during and after your radiation treatments. These individuals are the best source of accurate information about your particular case.

Coping with a diagnosis of cancer and researching the various treatment options can be a very stressful and emotional experience for anyone to handle. To assist you in this process, below is a general list of questions you may want to ask your radiation oncologist if you are in the process of considering radiation therapy in your treatment options.

• What type and what stage of cancer do I have?
• What is the purpose of using radiation therapy to treat my type of cancer?
• How will the radiation therapy be administered to me? Will it be external beam or a form of brachytherapy? Will the treatments be painful?
• For how many weeks will I receive radiation? How many treatments will I receive per day or per week?
• What are the chances that radiation therapy will work?
  What is the chance that the cancer can spread or come back if I do not have radiation therapy?
• Will I need to have chemotherapy, surgery and/or other any other form of treatments? If so, in what order will I need to receive these treatments, and how soon before or after radiation therapy will I need to start them?
• How can I expect to feel during and in the weeks following my radiation therapy treatments?
• Will I be able to drive myself to and from the treatment facility?
• Will I be able to continue my normal daily activities?
• What side effects may occur from the radiation treatments and how can I manage them?
• Will radiation therapy affect my sex life or my ability to have children?
• Will I need to take any special precautions during my treatments, like staying out of the sun or avoiding people with infectious diseases?
• Do I need to be on a specialized diet during or after my treatment?
• Will I be able to exercise?
• Will side effects change my appearance? If so, will the changes be permanent or temporary? If temporary, how long will they last?
• How often will I need to return for checkups?
• How and when will you know if I am cured of cancer?
• What are the chances that the cancer will come back?
• How soon can I go back to my regular activities? Work? Sexual activity? Aerobic exercise?
• Do you participate in my insurance plan?
• What steps should I take to prepare for this financially?
• What are some of the support groups I can turn to during treatment?

  Back toTop