What should you ask your doctor about kidney cancer?

It is important to have frank, open discussions with your cancer care team. They want to answer all of your questions, no matter how trivial they might seem. For instance, consider asking these questions:

• What kind of kidney cancer do I have?
• Do you think my cancer has spread?
• What is the stage of my cancer and what does that mean?
• What treatment choices do I have?
• What do you recommend and why?
• Based on what you've learned about my cancer, what is my long-term prognosis (outcome)?
• What risks or side effects are there to the treatments you suggest?
• What are the chances of recurrence of my cancer with these treatment plans?
• What should I do to be ready for treatment?
• How soon should I be treated?
• What type of follow-up will I need after treatment?
• Are there any clinical trials I should think about?

Along with these sample questions, be sure to write down some of your own. For example, you might want to know how long it might take you to recover so that you can plan your work schedule. Or you might want to ask about second opinions or about clinical trials for which you may qualify.