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Newly Diagnosed

What questions should I be asking my medical team?

You likely have many questions for your healthcare team. It is important to keep an ongoing list of your questions between appointments. Be sure to take your list with you and keep asking your questions until you get the answers you understand. Don’t be afraid to ask why your doctor is running a test, scheduling a procedure or changing a medication. Here are some sample questions to consider:

About your disease:

How long do I have to live?

How long do I have to live?

This is most people’s first question, along with “what can I expect to happen.” The doctor’s answer is called a prognosis (an educated guess about the likely course of your disease and how long you might live). Because each person is unique, and each person’s disease is different, a prognosis can be difficult to make. Also, how a disease progresses over time is unpredictable, and less is known about rare diseases than common diseases.