About the Timing:
You may have more time than you think, be sure to ask these questions as well.
- Do I need the treatment right now?
- What happens if I wait a while?
Quality Cancer Care from the Physician’s Perspective
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), which is the largest organization representing doctors treating people with cancer, and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), jointly developed the following components to ensure access to, and the continuity of, quality cancer care.
We have included their core components and a link for those who would like to know more. These have a large public policy component versus ours, which are focused on what each individual will want to try to receive. www.asco.org
- Access to Information
- Privacy, Confidentiality, and Dignity
- Access to Medical Records
- Prevention Services
- Nondiscrimination
- Consent to Treatment and Choice
- Multidisciplinary Cancer Care
- Innovative Cancer Care
- Survivorship Care Planning
- Pain Management, Supportive, and Palliative Care
Resources / Others Working In This Area of Advocacy:
The National Breast Cancer Coalition
Another leading organization in the cancer community, the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC), has been working in this area for many years and is a leader in helping to develop better guidelines for quality care.
They have developed six core values they believe constitute quality cancer care in their publication “Guide to Quality Breast Cancer Care.” Although the publication is about breast cancer, NBCC’s core values of quality cancer care extend to all types of the disease. Although these are focused towards public policy, they also apply to individual. http://www.stopbreastcancer.org/
- ACCESS to all the care you need when you need it.
- INFORMATION that is complete and correct.
- CHOICE about your doctors and treatments.
- RESPECT in all parts of your health care.
- ACCOUNTABILITY in all parts of the health care system.
- IMPROVEMENT in the system so breast cancer care continues to get better.
The National Coalition For Cancer Survivorship
This is the oldest survivor led cancer advocacy organization. They advocate for quality care and empowering cancer survivors. Their free Cancer Survival Toolkit can be ordered from their website at www.canceradvocacy.org.
CISN Tip:
Your medical team will be working hard to meet your needs. They are dedicated people who choose to work in a difficult field because they care about cancer patients.
Make their job easier by informing them of your needs. Become a team.