Communicating with the health care team
Many cancer patients need help when talking with their care providers. This could be due to age or even just fatigue due to treatment. In these instances a caregiver must step in to listen to doctors, to ask questions and to do whatever they can to help in the patient’s recovery. Here are some steps that a caregiver can follow to help them to make their conversations with the team as worthwhile as possible.
Ask Questions: Ask a question if you are unsure of anything. Make sure that you understand everything fully before moving onto the next topic.
Keep good notes: Get a good notebook that that you can record all necessary details meetings with the team in. Write down any notes they have as well as future appointments. It is important to have one notebook that is only used for this. This will prevent having to look through multiple notebooks from different appointments.
Talk to them about your worries: Make sure to let the team know about how the patient is feeling emotionally and physically. Let them know about any changes on the body of the patient or any issues that have arisen from side effects. It is also important to let them know how you are feeling. Keep them informed about any emotional and physical impacts care giving is having on you.
If you have a question about cancer, you can get in contact with the Marie Keating Foundation through our Ask the Nurse service.