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Which questions should I ask my surgeon? (I think Whipple is likely.)
Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: Aug 30, 2023 | Replies (30)Comment receiving replies
I am so sorry you have to face so much of this by yourself. Are you being treated at Mayo Clinic? If not, I hope you have great doctors that really listen and answer your questions. I have been at every appointment with my mother and my husband when they had cancer and I did their research and organized their questions. If you have the energy, something that really helped me was to put all of the questions for the doctor in a list in my phone as I thought of them (and as the patient thought of them). That way, we did not forget anything. I have found that you don't have to worry too much about taking notes because most things show up in the patient portal and you can read them later if you want to.
Assuming that you have great doctors like my husband does, my observation is that you don't have to worry about asking too many questions because they have you covered like a highly educated, caring, warm, cozy blanket. I would encourage you to ask any question you want to ask and not consider any of them silly or unimportant. Most doctors we have interacted with have very patiently answered questions and I have been surprised by the completeness and transparency of their answers. It seems like most great doctors have moved away from the days when you were just supposed to trust them and not ask anything.
I agree with the user above, mayoconnectuser1. Be sure you are being treated somewhere that is top ranked in your type of cancer. You would like to have the latest knowledge at your disposal. I know I said this before, but I think that having doctors that are experts in your cancer can remove the need to advocate for yourself. I really hope that all goes well for you.
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Thank you so much for your reply. I've always brought my laptop, with a typed list of questions, to every appt. with my onc., and I type his replies (and also record the appt.). Will continue to do so, and thanks.
I'm being treated at a hospital that isn't nationally recognized in any discipline, and this makes me nervous with regard to surgery. (My diagnosis came out of nowhere, after some intense itching and jaundice prompted an ER visit, and I ended up at this hospital bc my primary-care physician was here.) My onc. has good educational credentials and has been practicing for about 20 years; he's smart, and I trust him, not least bc he has pushed for me to get surgery despite an early indication that my cancer night be metastatic (which would lead him to give me palliative care only).
I live close enough to Hopkins Hospital to be treated there, but I don't want to leave my onc. (or the social worker who has helped me with some related financial woes). I plan to meet with a Hopkins surgeon as well, and I plan to ask my onc., whom I'll see two days after I see the surgeon, whether my having the surgery at Hopkins but having all of my my post-surgery and post-surgical-recovery care back at the non-Hopkins hospital would jeopardize my relationship with him or with the non-Hopkins hospital.
I probably should have gone to Hopkins as soon as I had the diagnosis, but there was a giant logistical complication related to getting a referral to an onc. (don't ask) on top of the general overwhelming-ness of "Hey, your current symptoms aren't something chronic / manageable -- they're cancer, maybe metastatic!" So I passively threw myself on the mercy of a patient advocate at my former PCP's hospital (the non-Hopkins one) bc I didn't know what else to do.
Sorry if this is waaay too long, and thank you very much for your time, help, and kindness. Take care.