Get Organized

I have my cell phone set to alarm at the times I need to take my meds. It helps to have an irritating voice reminding me to "check your messages"!

Free resources from familiar IT giants have been created for collecting personal health information. In most cases these sites currently require that you or someone who you trust update the information regularly. Users can enter prescriptions they are taking, allergy information, family and personal medical history, and information about their condition, medical visits including any test results. These records are intended to be secure places for people to collect information that can be shared across different providers when they choose.

Google: www.google.com/health
Microsoft: www.healthvault.com
WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/phr
Medline Plus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/personalhealthrecords.html;
The American Health Information Management Association: http://www.myphr.com/

For more information check out the Prepared Patient 411 and this Prepared Patient article titled Taking Charge of Your Health Records
#Sharing" target="_blank">http://www.preparedpatientforum.org/patient411/organizing.cfm#Sharing
http://www.cfah.org/hbns/preparedpatient/Vol2/Prepared-Patient-Vol2-Issue1.cfm

Breathe, that's the first thing. Remember, your cancer has likely been growing for quite some time, so it is important not to rush when making decisions as to treatment.
Tanya is right, you must bring along an advocate, it is far too much to expect to process all that is said to you. Be sure to bring along a list of questions and do not leave if these questions are not answered. Be prepared to fire a doctor if you do not feel comfortable with his recommendations or personality. Please, get a second opinon, if nothing else, hearing the same information twice may make it easier to digest the treatment plan. Remember, it's your body, your life and there is life after cancer; find the team that is best for you and your cancer. I'd like to share with you a blog I posted:
http://elynjacobs.blogspot.com/2011/05/cancer-find-right-team.html" target=_blank>http://elynjacobs.blogspot.com/2011/05/cancer-find-right-team.html
To view another great post on this topic, please view:
http://bit.ly/mu0LVB