What to do if you get cancer ?

If you suspect you have cancer, you should take the following steps:

1. Go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible to confirm the condition. Never hide your illness and avoid medical treatment.

2. If you have been diagnosed with cancer, do not panic and make hasty decisions that you may regret in the future. Improper surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy can cause serious harm. Avoid rushing into treatment in a panic and making irreparable mistakes. Cancer is not an acute disease and has been dormant in the body for a long time when diagnosed. Unless there are urgent symptoms that must be treated promptly, most patients have no urgency for immediate treatment.

3. There are cases of misdiagnosis, and what is more important is whether the treatment recommended by the doctor is appropriate. Therefore, you should ask for a second opinion and make further consultations on diagnosis and treatment. The so-called re-consultation does not mean taking the previous pathology report to the second hospital to inquire about diagnosis and treatment methods. Instead, the cancer expert at the second hospital will re-evaluate and interpret the condition based on the medical history and data. If there is insufficient data, additional slices and scans may be needed. If experts from two hospitals disagree, a third party must be included in the interpretation.

4. All cancer patients must have a correct pathological diagnosis report before they can receive correct treatment based on their condition. Scanning and pathological diagnosis reports from government hospitals may require payment.

5. When discussing and formulating cancer treatment strategies with doctors, there are certain questions that patients should ask their doctors for advice. Do you know the answers to the following questions clearly ?

1 What kind of cancer do I have?

2 What stage is my cancer? Has it spread?

3 What are my treatment options? Please explain the pros and cons.

4 What is the goal of this treatment method, what is its efficacy, and what are its contraindications?

5 If the first stage of treatment fails, what other treatments will be used next?

6 What are the side effects, sequelae, or dangers of your proposed treatment?

7 How do I face and deal with these possible side effects, sequelae or dangers?

8 Can I continue to work during treatment? How long will I need to be off work?

9 Do I need care and attention from others?

10 What is the total medical cost, including second, third and subsequent treatments?

11 What is my 5-year survival rate?

12 What should I be mentally prepared for?

6. The damage and sequelae caused by inappropriate surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are terrible. Patients are welcome to call us to inquire about how to work hand in hand with natural comprehensive therapies.

7. Those patients who have undergone surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but still cannot control the proliferation and spread of tumors, although their condition is serious, there is still a glimmer of hope. You are welcome to call us to inquire about treatment.

8. Cancer is a very serious and complex disease that must be guided and treated by experienced doctors.

Cancer patients should stay calm

When we hear the diagnosis, we may be shocked or panicked, and our bodies immediately activate a stress response to prepare for war. At this time, functions that are not critical to survival are shut down, including digestive and immune functions. When we can relax, these functions can be restored and activated again, entering a regenerative state. As long as we continue to be anxious, our bodies are locked into a stress response, and our immune systems tend to be suppressed or shut down completely. The immune system is the first line of defense against cancer, so be sure to calm down and maintain a calm and optimistic attitude when dealing with it.

Physical activity, even a quick walk, can bring us back to a relaxed state. Planting flowers, weeding, yoga, aerobics, or any activity that soothes your muscles can help relieve stress.

Discuss with the doctor in detail as soon as possible the patient's condition, treatment methods, selection of auxiliary anti-cancer drugs, diet and nutrition, how to deal with various reactions, etc.

Should cancer patients know the real situation?

After a diagnosis of cancer, should the patient be told? In the past, due to the low cure rate, cancer was regarded as a terminal disease, and suffering from cancer meant death. Whether or not to inform is indeed a great pressure on everyone. On the one hand, they are worried that the patient will not be able to bear it after learning about the disease. On the other hand, the family members do not know how to deal with their loved ones suffering from cancer, so they will try to hide it as much as possible. However, now that cancer is beginning to be conquered, the cure rate has been greatly improved, the vast majority of cancer patients can recover or survive with the cancer for a long time through appropriate comprehensive therapy, the issue of confidentiality does not exist.

Research shows that informing patients of their condition at the right time and on the right occasion is conducive to patient acceptance and adaptation. Although it may be a bit of a shock at the beginning, most people can face it with a calm mood afterward. Only when patients understand their condition can they choose a treatment plan that suits them. Only in this way can patients actively cooperate with treatment and obtain the best medical results. How many patients did not know they were suffering from cancer, so they took it lightly and wasted the precious golden treatment period. How many patients resist treatment and constantly ask why they need to take so many medicines, why they need to change their diet, why…. If this is the case, how can they fully and actively cooperate with the treatment? If the patient is completely unaware of the condition, but he is required to undergo various treatments, furthermore the process may be very difficult and the reaction may be strong, how can the patient accept it? This often causes communication problems between doctors and patients.

As for whether to fully inform the patient, it must be decided based on the patient's personality, family, cultural background, condition and other factors. The timing of notification is also important. It is not necessary to let the patient know at the first time. If informed by a doctor, it will be more professional and authoritative and can answer the questions of patients and family members. The wording used to inform is also very important, especially for terminal cancer patients, it is more appropriate to inform tactfully. Before informing, find out the patient's strength of support so that he can rely on it in the face of emotional shock.

Birth, old age, illness and death are inevitable processes for everyone. Everyone must face death eventually. Is it the best option to let the patient leave without knowing anything? If the patient knows about his condition, he will have the opportunity to properly explain his funeral arrangements in case he has to prepare for the worst, making the remaining time he has more meaningful. Many patients have confirmed that cancer has positive consequences. It allows you to re-understand the true meaning of friends, family and life, and allows you to see clearly what is really important. As a result, they have a new orientation and experience in life, study and work. It’s no surprise that many cancer survivors say “cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me,” because it makes you stop, sit back, re-examine your life, and re-experience life. Having a new understanding of life is indeed a beautiful thing.

Please read "Steve Jobs Facing Cancer"

In fact, often it is because we don’t have confidence and think that cancer is a terminal disease, so we don’t dare to let patients know about it. If we ourselves already lost hope, how can we encourage patients to face it positively and bravely?