What to ask your doctor about bowel cancer treatment

• What can you tell me about the stage of my cancer?
• What can you tell me about the grade of my cancer?
• What sort of treatment do I need?
• Is there any choice of treatments?
• Should I have any other treatment as well as surgery?
• How often will you want to see me after my treatment is finished?
• What will happen at these follow up appointments?
• What should I do if I am worried between appointments?
• Will the treatment cure my cancer?

Questions for your doctor when bowel cancer is advanced

• What treatment do you recommend now my cancer has come back?
• What are the side effects of treatment likely to be?
• Is it possible for me to have surgery to remove my secondary cancer?
• Which treatments can help with cancer in the liver?
• I have had chemotherapy so is there another type of chemotherapy or cancer drug I could have?
• Are there any experimental treatments or trials you would recommend for me?
• Are there any trials for colorectal cancer going on at this hospital?
• Is there a counsellor here I could talk things through with?
• What if I decide not to have treatment?
• Can I get help with travel costs?

There are more suggestions for questions at the end of the sections about surgery for bowel cancer, chemotherapy for bowel cancer and radiotherapy for bowel cancer.