n HOW CAN I WORK WITH MY CHILD’S TREATMENT TEAM? Your child’s care and treatment requires a team ap - proach. As a parent or guardian, you are an integral part of the team and your input is important. Because you know your child better than anyone else, the treatment team will need your help with managing your child’s disease. It is important to communicate openly with your child’s treatment team. Be sure to question your child’s oncology provider or nurse whenever there is anything you are not sure about. It often helps to write down your questions when you think of them. Examples
of some questions to ask include the following: • Has the cancer spread beyond the primary site? • What treatment options are available? • What treatment do you recommend and why? • What are the risks or side effects of the recommended treatment? • What should we do to prepare for treatment? • What is my child’s outlook for survival? • What are the chances of a recurrence? • If my child’s cancer recurs, are other treatment options available?
Use this space to write down some additional questions. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ n ARE MY FEELINGS NORMAL? Learning that your child has cancer can be shocking and overwhelming. At first, you may not believe it or may hope the diagnosis is wrong. However, the changes you see in your child and the experience of being in the hospital and beginning treatment no doubt will confirm the reality of your child’s situation. Many family mem- bers feel they are somehow responsible for the child’s disease or feel guilty that they were not able to detect it
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