What Should You Ask Your Doctor About Castleman Disease
As you cope with Castleman disease and its treatment, we encourage you to have honest, open discussions with your doctor. Feel free to ask any question that’s on your mind, no matter how small it might seem. Here are some questions you might want to ask. Be sure to add your own questions as you think of them. Nurses, social workers, and other members of the treatment team may also be able to answer many of your questions.
- Do you know what caused my disease?
- Is my Castleman disease localized or multicentric?
- Do I also have HIV infection and AIDS? If so, how does it influence the prognosis and treatment of Castleman disease?
- What treatment choices do I have?
- Which treatment do you recommend, and why?
- What side effects are there to the treatments that you recommend?
- What is my outlook for survival?
- What can I do to help reduce the side effects I may have from the treatment?
- What are the chances that the disease will come back once I am in remission?
- Am I eligible to participate in clinical trials of any new treatments?