People often overlook an important source of social support: health care providers. From patient navigators and social workers, to surgeons and oncology nurses, health care providers can offer a wealth of information, hope and advice.
These sources are often left untapped due to problems with patient-provider communication. People may feel too embarrassed or rushed to ask questions, or they simply may not know which questions to ask. And, sometimes, providers may seem too busy to help. Fortunately, there are resources to help you improve communication with your health care team.
Talking to health care providers
Our “Talking with Your Doctor” fact sheet outlines a series of steps you can use to communicate more effectively with your providers and our “Questions to Ask the Doctor” topic cards have specific questions to ask your providers. You can also visit Talking to Your Provider for more information and a list of questions for providers found throughout Understanding Breast Cancer.
Depression and professional help
Thirty to 50 percent of breast cancer survivors may, at some point, have symptoms of depression, anxiety or other forms of severe distress [2,19]. If you have these feelings, share them with your health care provider. He/she can help you directly or refer you to a provider who can.
Learn more about depression.
Updated 09/14/11
