Part II – Dealing with the Initial Diagnosis of Cancer j. The Need for Having Another Relative or Friend to Attend All Consultations
It is very important to have someone, a spouse, a relative, or a friend, with the cancer patient during all consultations.This provides a number of advantages:
1) it provides the opportunity for better hearing of all that is said, particularly as the cancer patient may be in shock and overwhelmed by all the information that is being presented;
2) it gives the cancer patient someone to later discuss what was said during a consultation;
3) there can be questions raised by a friend or relative during consultations that the cancer patient would not have thought to ask;
4) it provides support to a cancer patient at a critical time involving a health crises; and
5) it can provide the spouse or relative with information that can be reassuring or hopeful that can aid in supportingthe cancer patient during treatment.