Mom 63 just diagnosed, what questions should I ask doctor?

[Ms Fredericks]

I am 27, my mother, non smoker of 63 just diagnosed. We are waiting for appointment but the CT results look very bad. 

Does anyone have any advice on questions I should be asking the doctors? I plan to ask for biomarker testing. 

I need to be her rock, and eyes and ears. Any and all help is appreciated.

Much love to the community.

 

[LUNGevityKristin]

Hi Ms Fredericks, I'm sorry to hear about your mom's diagnosis.  Here is a list of questions you can print and bring along with you to the appointment. 

https://lungevity.org/for-patients-caregivers/asking-right-questions/questions-to-ask-your-healthcare-professionals

Biomarker testing is an important one since it could open doors to specific treatments for her.  Please let us know how it goes, we will be here to support you.  And as many survivors on here can tell you, there is always hope. 

[Blossomsmom]

I’m sorry to hear of your Moms diagnosis but welcome to this site. The people here are a wealth of information and have helped save my sanity on many occasions.  As Kristin suggested, print out the list of questions as a start. Here’s a couple of things I found helpful as I’ve traveled this road with my Mom. Get a 3 ring type binder, put some regular binder paper in it and keep it close by. When you think of a question, write it down as you think of it. The rest of the binder can be used to put names and phone #’s of Doctor's, copies of labwork, test results, list of medications your mom is taking. Take the binder to all appointments so you can make notes in it. Be sure to date those notes. I found it extremely helpful to be able to refer back to my notes and know exactly when I wrote them. Most of all, don’t be afraid to speak up! I regret not doing that in the beginning but with the encouragement I received from everyone here, I don’t hesitate to speak up on my mom’s behalf. You are her advocate and her ears especially with amount of information there is to digest. And last but by no means least, as someone told me, this is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. It takes all the strength you have at times to deal with this. It’s more than OK during those times to reach out to this amazing community of people. They will encourage you to keep putting one foot in front of the other during those times when you would really like to get into bed and just pull the covers up over your head.