ACADEMY PUBLIC POLICIES

Being newly diagnosed with cancer in the hospital is one of the most difficult circumstances in which you and your loved ones can find yourselves. In M. and A. case, he was sick and needed treatment before leaving the hospital. The couple wanted to trust their oncologist but weren’t sure if they could or should. Yet whether you are in a hospital or at home, every newly diagnosed cancer patient faces similar immediate issues.

First, if you have suddenly become sick and the cause is cancer, you must try to come to terms with the fact that a mysterious and frightening disease is the cause of this dramatic change of health, rather than a more familiar, non-life-threatening condition. Second, you must consider accepting complicated therapies, such as chemotherapy or radiation that may cause significant side effects. And you and your family have to make decisions about which oncologist and which cancer center to place your trust in. If you need hospitalization, you may need to rely on a new hospital and new health care providers whom you did not seek out in the first place.

All cancer patients should feel confidence in their oncologist, surgeon, and radiation therapist as well as the center in which they will receive treatment. Since this confidence is something that must be deserved and earned, however, you should try to evaluate if the hospital and physicians have the expertise and capability to treat your type of cancer. This usually means asking about the training and experience of the doctors, the reputation and accreditation of the hospital for the treatment of cancer, and whether the hospital has a research program that provides access to clinical trials. Outpatients who are not experiencing any symptoms from cancer have more time to make these decisions.

Great cancer care involves far more than surgery, radiation, and the administration of chemotherapy. Caregivers must always consider the totality of a patient and how cancer will impact his or her life and loved ones.

Oncology nurses, family therapists, spiritual advisers, and other professionals should be available to assist the oncologist in addressing the many emotional and psychological needs of a cancer patient and his or her family members. Although these needs may seem secondary in the whirlwind of trying to figure out how best to save a life, it is actually at these times that you can take the measure of a cancer program: Are you and your loved ones being supported with information, education, and caring professionals who have the time to guide you through this difficult moment in your life? The answer should be yes. It takes a community of dedicated professionals to care for a cancer patient. This care should be delivered in a pleasant, warm, and welcoming environment. If the right care can be delivered near one’s home or work, then that is the optimal situation.

If you are hospitalized and do not feel that the facility you are in is expert enough in your type of cancer, you should inquire about the feasibility of being transferred to a more specialized center. An outpatient can more easily seek other opinions elsewhere. Above all, if you have cancer, you should be made to feel that your oncologist is your advocate and that he or she will tell you where the most appropriate place is for the treatment of your cancer, whether this is a regional hospital or another facility. In the words of the acclaimed journalist Marjorie Williams, who wrote of her battle with liver cancer in the book “The Woman at the Washington Zoo” - “There is nothing like having a doctor who really cares about you.” Amen to that!