Questions to ask docter
Regular communication with your child’s doctor is important in making informed decisions about your child’s health care. Consider asking the following questions of your child’s doctor:
- Can you explain my child’s pathology report (laboratory test results) to me?
- What is the histology of the tumor? What does this mean?
- What is the stage of the tumor? What does this mean?
- What treatment options are available?
- What clinical trials are open to my child?
- What treatment plan do you recommend? Why?
- How long will my child be in treatment?
- What are the possible side effects of each treatment option, both in the short term and the long term?
- How will this treatment affect my child’s daily life? Will he or she be able to go to school and perform his or her usual activities?
- If I’m worried about managing the costs related to my child’s medical care, who can help me with these concerns?
- Can my child play sports and, if so, which ones? Are there any precautions necessary when he or she participates in sports?
- What do I need to do if my child has abdominal pain with vomiting?
- What is the chance that the tumor will come back after treatment?
- Will my child be able to have children?
- If my child has children, what is their risk of developing Wilms tumor?
- What follow-up tests will my child need, and how often will he or she need them?
- What support services are available to my child? To my family?