Читать книгу The Cancer Directory - Dr. Daniel Rosy - Страница 96

After researching and gathering the information you need, making your decisions will take time. It may take you a few weeks to gather all the details you need to work out the best treatment plan for you. Unfortunately, this often conflicts with the natural urge and pressure from others to take quick and decisive action, and begin your treatment as soon as possible. Nevertheless, remember that many people have done this and, later on when they have looked around and have a greater understanding of cancer, wished they had taken more time to look at the pros and cons of each treatment option. The fact that you are reading this book shows that you are already taking a careful and measured approach to choosing your treatments.

If you have only just been diagnosed, taking the time to consider the future implications of your treatment and your own personal philosophy of how you want to deal with your cancer, and devising a treatment plan that suits you may be the most valuable time you spend to ensure your longer-term well-being.

However, especially when first diagnosed, you may feel unsure if it will be detrimental for you not to start treatment immediately. It would be worthwhile checking how much time you can take safely with your own doctor or an integrated medicine consultant (see the Resources Directory pages 351–3).

Explain that you wish to consider all the options available and ask them the following questions:

• How aggressive is my tumour and how fast is it growing?

• How long would you estimate my cancer has been there?

• Do you feel it would be detrimental to postpone action for a few weeks while I look at all the options? (If the answer is yes, ask why. What do they think will happen to your cancer during the delay?)

If you are considering treatments that are beyond your doctor’s field of expertise, such as immunotherapy or intravenous metabolic treatment, you may find that some doctors will not consider them a worthy alternative, and will try to influence you into looking only at more conventional treatments. You need to be sure that you are getting a balanced and reasoned opinion. Sadly, it is not unusual for a doctor to write off a treatment approach while having absolutely no knowledge of what it’s about. Conversely, some alternative doctors may be overly dismissive of the value of conventional medical treatment. In this case, arrange to speak to an integrated medicine doctor who is genuinely committed to getting you the very best of both worlds – orthodox and alternative.