Getting Support for Your Cancer Journey
Parthen offers access to clinical advice to offer:
- Explanations of reports and results
- Questions for your clinical team
- Testing options
- Connections to Specialists, and Support Groups
Cancer Diagnosis – Initial phase
Being diagnosed with cancer is disturbing and overwhelming. It’s important to remember that you are not alone. There are many resources available to help navigate your cancer journey, from emotional support to practical advice on managing your treatment to planning your lifestyle.
What will be required for navigating Your Diagnosis and Treatment course?
Understanding Your Diagnosis: Understanding your cancer diagnosis is the first key step in managing your treatment. The healthcare team can provide you with information about your cancer type, stage and the potential course of treatment. It’s important to ask questions and take an active role in your treatment plan.
Genetic Testing for Targeted Therapy: Most types of cancers are triggered and driven by genomic changes called driver mutations or alterations, which can be identified by cancer genomic testing. If you have been diagnosed with a type of cancer caused by a specific mutation(s) or alteration(s), your healthcare team may plan a targeted therapy course. Targeted therapy is a type of treatment that specifically targets the cancer cells with the driver mutation(s), while leaving healthy cells unaffected, which reduces side-effects of the therapeutic drugs. It is important to talk to your healthcare team about genetic testing and targeted therapy to understand if it is appropriate for you.
Finding emotional support: Dealing with cancer is emotionally challenging. It’s important to have a support system in place to help cope with the ups and downs of your cancer journey. Some options for emotional support include:
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- Support groups: These can be in-person or online and provide a safe space for you to connect with others who are going through similar experiences.
- Counseling or therapy: A licensed therapist or counselor can help you work through the emotional challenges of cancer and provide you with coping strategies.
- Subject matter experts: Professionals in the area of precision oncology can provide you all relevant and necessary information, answer your questions and also guide you to ask important questions to your healthcare provider.
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Managing Your Treatment: Managing your cancer treatment can be a daunting task. However, there are several resources available to help you stay organized and on track. For example, keeping a treatment journal can help you keep track of appointments, medications and side effects, and questions that you should ask your provider at different stages of treatment.
Overall, managing cancer journey can be challenging, but there are resources available to help you navigate the process. From emotional support to practical advice, there are tools and resources to help you cope with your diagnosis and treatment, and more importantly, educate yourself with all relevant information- as clarity can be calming.
Our goal is to empower you and/or your caregiver to take an active role in the treatment plan and offer supportive advice along the journey.