Every cancer journey is unique. Understanding your options and knowing the right questions to ask can help you feel more grounded and empowered.
For many patients, the experience of cancer care is overwhelming, particularly in the early stages when appointments can feel rushed, and information is difficult to process.
Read More- Are you hoping to control symptoms with fewer side effects?
- Is your priority achieving the longest stretch without disease progression?
- Or is preserving your quality of life during and after treatment the guiding factor?
When these priorities are clear, you and your doctor can weigh options that truly fit your needs.
Dr. James Ryan Mark, a urologic oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, tells SurvivorNet that for prostate cancer patients in particular, treatment decisions should be closely tied to personal goals.
“I think it’s important for men to take account of what’s important to them. There are a lot of options for treatments — every treatment option has its pros and its cons,” he explains.
While some treatments may offer stronger cancer control, they may also come with side effects that don’t align with your preferences. And in some cases, the differences between options are relatively small. That’s why understanding your priorities and voicing them is such a powerful part of shaping your care.
SurvivorNet aims to help patients navigate their cancer journeys with more confidence. Arming patients with the right information to go into conversations with their care teams about making treatment decisions that benefit all parties is a big part of our mission.
WATCH: My Health Questions Addresses Cancer Questions
SurvivorNet has assembled some of the most experienced and respected experts in the field to provide accurate, high-quality information to help you understand this disease and make decisions about your care.
In many cases, the experts we’ve collaborated with are explaining key concepts. In other cases where experts differ, and the science is still evolving, we present varying viewpoints and options. We think these varying viewpoints and options are crucial for many people who struggle to determine if there are other things they can do for their treatment. We hope you find them useful.
Like all cancers, people with multiple myeloma follow a journey. In order to make this journey more understandable, we’ve organized material into a series of steps involving prevention and the precursor diseases to myeloma, symptoms and diagnosis, the initial treatment for multiple myeloma, transplant for multiple myeloma, maintenance, and relapse. There are also extensive resources in the living with cancer section for people who want help with crucial topics around mental health, diet and exercise, the finances around cancer, and faith.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
