One Piece of Advice You'd Give Someone Newly Diagnosed

This is really difficult to answer because at least a dozen things come to mind. The consensus in my family is never give up. I definitely had my moments but they never took me down for a long period of time. I reminded myself that I made a commitment to be around for my family. Sorry, I guess I just gave two things but like I said, saying only one is pretty difficult.

Giving two things is ok. This isn't a test, ha, ha. But it is definitely difficult. If I were to take another stab at this I would definitely say, listen to everything that your doctor says. He's the head honcho here. But question everything! If you aren't happy with or feel un-at-ease with something then either get an alternative or second opinion. Never fear questioning your doctor.

Since you cheated, Merry, I will cheat again. For all doctor visits, take a notepad. Surely you will have questions and you don't want to forget any. A notepad is also helpful to write down their responses. It is way too easy to forget what they say in the heat of the moment.

There are soooo many more 'one piece of advice' answers.

Merry, I don't recall seeing a topic like this but it got me thinking, advice is thrown out to new people here all the time. Maybe you could change the name of this here to all pieces of advice that we could offer someone, especially those who are new here. Hopefully that would also bring in lots of others because our circumstances are all different.

I fully agree about seeking out a "teaching" hospital. To expand on that, one needs to identify all the treatment options including surgical options. Had I not taken action and transferred from my original provider, I would not have known about or received the much easier treatment I did have.

@sierracharlie-Every group offers the chance for people to offer advice based on their own experiences. I think it would be redundant to offer a free for all unless I'm not understanding what you mean. Advice that is not based on science or personal experience leads to a lot of misinformation or spam-type things, or people wanting to sell things. We don't want to be another FaceBook.

If you have a specific topic that you thinks needs more attention for a new chat or new topic then by all means spit it out! lol. Thank you for your suggestion! I'm all for doing something different within the guidelines set by Mayo Clinic and Colleen.

I love that you are thinking like this. Did I misunderstand you?

Uh yes, I think there is a little misunderstanding. Every time someone new comes onboard, they have lots of questions. Some are questions they don't even know they have. That's why I was thinking of maybe a one-stop that can cover many questions that we have, especially in the beginning.

We are all different so we have different questions. It would be my hope that someone could post something that would help someone else, especially those who are new, to ask more questions. Obviously the responses to those questions are very specific to the patient and others won't apply to all patients. That said, it might be helpful to some people here to have a site that deals with some of the many questions that patients may ask. I hope this better explains what I have in mind.

One piece of advice: if at all possible, go to Mayo Clinic. You're then assured you are in the hands of the best medical people in the world and you never have to second guess your medical team, It's one less thing to worry about.

Merry,

Didn't you recently have a ct of your lungs. How did it turn out ?

Diane

@digibson- Aww, thanks for asking. It's next month on the 14th at Mass General in Boston. We take an early train and get home mid-afternoon. But I love going to MGH (Mass General). It's second-best in the country and I followed my surgeon there. We're friends and I don't make a move without checking with him.