What Should You Ask Your Doctor About Chronic Myeloid Leukemia?

As you cope with cancer and cancer treatment, you need to have honest, open discussions with your doctor. You should feel free to ask any question that's on your mind, no matter how small it might seem. Here are some questions you might want to ask. Nurses, social workers, and other members of the treatment team may also be able to answer many of your questions.

• What phase is my chronic myeloid leukemia in?
• What are my treatment choices?
• Which treatment do you recommend, and why?
• How long will treatment last and what will it be like?
• How often will you test my blood or bone marrow to see how my therapy is working?
• What side effects are there to the treatments that you recommend?
• What can I do to be ready for treatment?
• Should I consider a stem cell transplant at this time?
• What are the chances that my leukemia will come back once I am in remission?
• What type of follow-up will I need after treatment?

Be sure to write down any questions that occur to you that are not on this list. For instance, you might want information about recovery times so that you can plan your work schedule. Or you may want to ask about second opinions or qualifying for clinical trials.

Taking another person and/or a tape recorder to your appointments can be helpful. Getting copies of your medical records, including pathology and radiology reports, may be useful in case you wish to seek a second opinion at a later time.