Care teams may also include people who offer support outside of the traditional medical realm, including clergy, social workers and massage therapists.While an incurable diagnosis is no doubt overwhelming, transparency is key when it comes to treating each individual case."The goals of treatment need to be based on [each person's] goals and not the doctor's goals," Shockney said.
To start, Shockney said to write down life goals — anything from a future event to an ongoing work schedule — and share them with your doctor. This can help tailor treatment specifically to the goals. For example, if a patient requires chemotherapy and wants to keep a relatively normal work routine, chemo can be scheduled on Friday afternoons to have the weekend to rest.
In addition to life goals, asking the following questions can help the patient discover what is important to her moving forward with treatment (or check out this handy