YOUR CANCER YOUR LIFE – RIGHT TO HAVE QUESTIONS ANSWERED (ASKING FOR INFORMATION)
Don’t feel stupid about asking for information to be explained in a different way and/or repeated as many times as you need. No reasonable person would expect you to understand and remember everything after being told only once.
Many patients hold back from asking questions because they are worried about looking ignorant or stupid. If you don’t understand what your practitioner tells you it is because, whether deliberately or not, he or she hasn’t explained it well enough. Communicating effectively should be an important part of your practitioner’s responsibilities. He or she should be prepared to persevere until you do understand what is being said.
Nothing is so complex that it can’t be made perfectly understandable by someone who is willing to share it with you. It is possible that your practitioner is so familiar with certain words that he or she has forgotten that a non-medical person doesn’t know what they mean. You are not an expert and can’t be expected to understand medical terms so just say if you don’t understand. Sometimes a practitioner uses technical words to cover up his or her own emotions when giving bad news. You might have to help your practitioner by making it very clear that you want straight answers.
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