Questions to Take to Your Oncologist
Part of Understanding Cancer Trials: Endings, and questions to take with you.
About 3 minutes. Free, in your language, no account needed.
This is general education about clinical research — not medical advice, and not a way to join a study. Talk to your own doctor about your situation.
This is the last lesson, and it is the practical one.
Everything in this course exists so that a conversation with your own team goes better. These are questions you may take with you. They are not a checklist you must complete, and asking them does not commit you to anything.
Take as many or as few as you want. Take them on paper. Take someone with you.
About the study itself
- What question is this study trying to answer?
- What phase is it, and what does that mean for this study?
- What are the arms, and what would I receive in each?
- Is this randomized? What are the chances of each arm?
- Is it blinded? Would I know which arm I am in, and when would I find out?
- Does it use a placebo? If so, is it added to standard treatment or given instead of a treatment?
About my own situation
- What is my standard of care right now, outside any study?
- What would happen if I did nothing different?
- What is known about the risks and side effects, and what is not yet known?
- How would this affect the treatments I might want later?
- What would you want to know if you were me?
About the practical side
- How many visits, over how long, and how long is each one?
- Where would they happen, and how far is that from home?
- How many extra scans, blood draws, or procedures?
- What does the study pay for, and what would I pay for?
- Are travel or accommodation costs covered? How is that claimed?
- What happens if I miss a visit?
About safety and support
- Who do I contact if something goes wrong, including at night and at weekends?
- Who is my main day-to-day contact?
- How will my study team and my usual team communicate with each other?
- What support exists here — social work, financial advice, psychological support, interpreters?
About stopping and about after
- What happens if I want to stop? What happens to my care?
- What happens if my disease gets worse during the study?
- If I am doing well when the study ends, what happens then?
- How long does follow-up last?
- Will I be told the results, and will there be a plain-language summary?
About the information itself
- What information about me is collected, and who sees it?
- Are samples stored, for how long, and would future use need new approval?
- Which parts are optional?
Three things that are always allowed
Taking time. You may take the documents home and read them slowly. You may come back with questions next week. If a study genuinely cannot wait, ask how long you actually have — the answer is often longer than it feels.
Bringing someone. A second person hears things you miss and remembers things you forget. You may bring someone to any conversation.
Asking again. If an answer did not make sense, saying "I did not follow that, can you explain it differently" is exactly the right thing to say. Explaining clearly is the team's job, and a good team will not think less of you for asking twice.
In short
- Bring written questions, and bring another person if you can.
- Ask about the study, about your own situation, about the practical burden, about safety, about stopping, and about your data.
- Ask what your standard of care is outside any study, and what would happen if nothing changed.
- Ask who to call at night, and who your day-to-day contact is.
- Taking time, bringing someone, and asking again are always allowed.