Questions to Ask the Doctor

Regular communication with your doctor is important in making informed decisions about your health care. Consider asking the following questions of your doctor:

• What type of oral or oropharyngeal cancer do I have? Where exactly is it located?
  
  
• What is the stage of the cancer? What does this mean?
  
  
• What are the treatment options?
  
  
• What clinical trials are open to me?
  
  
• What treatment option do you recommend? Why?
  
  
• Should I get an additional consultation or second opinion?
  
  
• What are the possible side effects of each treatment option, both in the short term and the long term?
  
  
• What can be done to relieve the possible side effects?
  
  
• What functional deficits (in speech, swallowing, or shoulder motion) will likely occur, and what rehabilitation services are available?
  
  
• If I have surgery, will there be need for major reconstruction, and how is this going to affect my ability to speak and eat?
  
  
• If surgery is done, will there be a need for a neck dissection (removing lymph nodes)? If so, what type of dissection will be done? What does this mean?
  
  
• If I receive radiation therapy, what are the lasting side effects of such treatment including loss of saliva, loss of taste, and permanent difficulty in swallowing?
  
  
• How likely is it that I will lose my voice box (larynx), and if this is necessary, what are the options available for voice/speech rehabilitation?
  
  
• How will my nutrition be maintained if the treatment affects my ability to eat the foods I am used to eating?
  
  
• Can you recommend an oncologic dentist?
  
  
• Should I see other specialists prior to treatment? Should I specifically talk with a radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, plastic surgeon, or a speech pathologist?
  
  
• What will rehabilitation after treatment consist of?
  
  
• If I am a smoker, can you help me to quit?
  
  
• If I am a smoker, will quitting this habit help this treatment have a better outcome?
  
  
• After treatment, what follow-up tests will be needed, and how often will I need them?
  
  
• What are the chances this tumor will recur?
  
  
• What are the chances of a secondary cancer?
  
  
• Will there be any lasting or late side effects that will need special care?