Cancer.Net Guide Retinoblastoma - Childhood
 Questions to Ask the Doctor
Retinoblastoma - Childhood
This section has been reviewed and approved by the Cancer.Net Editorial Board,
8/08
Regular communication with your child’s doctor is important in making informed decisions about his or her health care. Consider asking the following questions of your child’s doctor:
- Does my child have the genetic form of retinoblastoma?
- What is the stage of the disease? What does this mean?
- What are the treatment options?
- What clinical trials are open for my child?
- What treatment do you recommend? Why?
- What is the likelihood that the recommended treatment can save my child’s vision?
- If enucleation is needed, what support services are available to help my child adjust to the partial/total loss of vision?
- If enucleation is needed, how soon can my child receive a prosthesis (artificial eye)?
- If recommended, what can I expect chemotherapy to accomplish in the treatment of my child’s cancer?
- If recommended, what are the relative benefits and risks of radiation treatment in treating my child?
- What are the common side effects of each treatment, in the short term and long term?
- What follow-up tests will my child need, and when will they be needed?
- What support services are available to my child? To my family?
Last Updated: October 31, 2008
|
|