Knowledge Hub
Knowledge Hub
Medical appointments can be stressful. A few simple habits – bring someone, take notes, write your questions down – make every visit go further.
Written by NECNZ team
Being told you have cancer is a confusing and frightening time for you and your loved ones. Your healthcare team will do their best to support you. But your medical appointments can be stressful, so here are some tips to get the most out of each appointment.
A few things to keep in mind:
1. Bring a trusted friend or family member with you if you can. If you are worried, you may not hear everything that is said, or ask all the questions you wanted to. It helps to have someone else to listen, and to help make sure your concerns are brought up.
2. Take notes on what symptoms you are feeling and when. Take these notes along to your appointments – they can help your medical team see patterns that aren't obvious from a single visit.
3. Write down a list of questions you want to ask. If you don't understand the answers to any of your questions, don't be shy about asking for the answer to be repeated or explained in a different way. Make sure you know who your point of contact is and how to get hold of them, in case you have questions later.
4. Ask about the multidisciplinary meeting. Deciding on a treatment strategy can be difficult, so asking your doctor to seek opinions from other specialists can be helpful. This is often done during a Multidisciplinary Meeting (MDM). Doctors are usually very open to this because they know that making the best treatment choice for people with NETs can be hard. You can always ask that your case be discussed at an MDM.
5. You decide how much you want to know. You can choose how much you want to know about your own cancer – including your overall treatment strategy, what the future might hold (prognosis), and what options are available if initial treatments don't get your cancer under control. You also have the right to make decisions for yourself, even if the choice is against medical treatment or to end medical treatment.
If you'd like a friendly hand to think through what to ask before a big appointment, get in touch with our team.
Transport Assistance
Help with travel and accommodation costs for NET treatment in Aotearoa – Te Whatu Ora's National Travel Assistance scheme, NECNZ hardship support, and how to apply.
We want patients to focus on their cancer treatment instead of worrying about day-to-day costs.
Neuroendocrine Cancer NZ offers a hardship fund to provide a small amount of financial support for patients in the greatest need.
WINZ Financial Support
Work and Income’s Special Needs Grant can help cancer patients cover essential or emergency costs they can’t afford.
Psychological support
Mental-health support for people living with neuroendocrine cancer – options across Aotearoa, including free helplines, counselling, and peer support.