Make The 3rd Opinion Your Own
Every year, more than 2.5 million people around the world hear the words ‘you have lung cancer’. 1 With two out of three living across Asia, patients, families, friends, and entire communities feel its impact. 1
After multiple test, waiting, and more tests, the confirmation is a huge shock. It’s natural to want to know more, but the speed at which you have to start making decisions feels overwhelming. It’s easy to feel like you have to put your life on hold while you seek treatment.
In the midst of a diagnosis, there’s one voice that matters just as much, yours
Your doctor may have already asked about your preferences. Yet, out of respect for medical expertise, the emotional weight of the moment, stigma around lung cancer, or simply feeling overwhelmed, 77% of patients in Asia remain quiet. 2 It’s understandable, but it doesn’t mean your voice should fade.
Your goals, your values, your hopes all matter when choosing the right treatment plan for you
69% of doctors actively encourage shared decision-making.2 They want to know what’s important to you so you can walk into each appointment with clarity and confidence. Not as a passive participant, but as an active partner in your care. They want to know your 3rd Opinion.
The 3rd Opinion is here to help you find your voice
We created the 3rd Opinion to give a name to the moment when medical advice meets what truly matters to you. It’s full of practical advice about how to cope with lung cancer, understand what you want, ask the questions that matter, and share what’s important to you. All aimed at giving you space to explore what you want. What feels right for your life, your family, your future.
Make the third 3rd Opinion your own today
How to talk about lung cancer with others
When it comes to lung cancer, every conversation is important.
As our understanding and awareness of lung cancer grows, so does the opportunity to have candid conversations about it. These conversations are key to supporting you, those around you and the lung cancer community. No topic should ever be off limits or muddled in scientific jargon. Whether it’s clinical trials, biomarker testing or just everyday living.
Explore the resources below to get practical advice on how to talk about lung cancer with confidence:
Questions to ask your Doctor
The list below includes example questions to help start a conversation with your health care provider. There may be other relevant questions based on your symptoms, stage, and medical history that are not listed here.:
- What type of lung cancer do I have, how advanced is my disease, and what can I expect?
- What are the treatment options? How much time do I have to decide?
- How long will the treatment take?
- What are the possible side effects?
- What happens if the treatment doesn’t work?
- How will this affect my everyday life?
- What symptoms or side effects should I tell you about right away?
- Are there any clinical trials I can join?
- Can you suggest a mental health professional I can see if I start to feel overwhelmed, depressed, or distressed?
- Can I be referred to patient support groups? Can I get help to quit smoking?
Useful terms to know
With so much new information to understand, here’s a quick glossary of new terms to help:
- Asymptomatic : showing no symptoms of a disease.
- Dyspnoea : shortness of breath.
- Dysphagia : difficulty or pain swallowing.
- Immunotherapy : a group of medicines that stimulate the immune system to target and destroy cancer cells.
- Incidence : the proportion or rate of persons in a population who develop a condition during a particular time period.
- Prevalence : the proportion of persons in a population who have a condition at or during a particular time period.
- Lung Nodules : a small abnormal area in the lung that can be cancerous or non-cancerous.
- Remission : the disappearance of cancer cells and symptoms.
- Targeted therapies : medicines designed to slow down the growth of non-small-cell lung cancer, only suitable for people who have certain proteins in their cancer cells.
- Radon : a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. It has no smell, colour or taste, and comes from the radioactive decay of radium, which is present in small amounts in rocks and earth. It is present in all air, both indoor and outdoor, but will accumulate in higher concentrations in confined and poorly ventilated spaces, such as attics, basements, sheds, mines and caves. 3
