1. Take Notes
A cancer diagnosis can throw you into a state of shock and confusion. There's just too much information for you to absorb it all. It's hard to think of what to ask the doctor and hard to remember what she tells you. To stay on top of your cancer care, keep a notebook with you, and when you think of questions for the doctor, write them down. Take the notebook with you and write down her answers. If you can't seem to focus enough to do this, ask a friend or family member to join you at your appointments and be your scribe.
2. Create a Cancer Binder to Stay Organized
You will be given so much paperwork through the course of your cancer treatments that it is helpful to set up a system to keep it organized. One idea to help you stay on top of your cancer care is to use a binder with different sections like contacts, diagnosis, treatments, medications, surgeries, studies, personal chronology or journal, blood work, reports from the doctors, recovery information and interesting articles or research that interest you. In this binder, it's wise to keep a log of the medications you take and how you react to them. You may need a separate binder or file for insurance information. Keep track of as much as you can.
3. Medication Spreadsheet
If your medication dosages and schedules are too much for you to handle, ask someone to help you. People are eager to help and many will gladly accept an assignment. In fact, they may rejoice over having some way to help you. If you have a friend that can create beautiful, detailed spreadsheets, ask him to prepare one for your medications. It's very helpful to look at a chart to remind you when you took your last dose of a certain medicine or when you're due for another one.
4. Make a Medication List
Take a minute and type out your list of medications and dosages. Make a similar list with all the surgeries you've had and when you had them. Print out a copy of each and keep them in your wallet. Then when you go to your doctor appointments and you're ask to fill out all those forms detailing your current medications and all your past surgeries, you'll have handy references to help you get all the details right.
