Making The Most of Your Cancer Specialist Visit
Resources: Visiting Cancer Specialists
This CancerMap outlines what to expect from your first visits with a cancer specialist and strategies to be better prepared.
Typically, the term cancer specialist refers to a surgical, medical, or radiation oncologists. These are types of physicians who have completed medical training to provide medical care for cancer patients.
Cancer specialists focus on caring for people living with cancer.
- Surgical oncologists perform surgery to remove cancer, when possible.
- Medical oncologists use medications taken by mouth or injection to control or cure cancer.
- Radiation oncologists use radiation which can be administered using external beams, internal implants, or through pills or solutions that are taken by mouth in order to cure or help control cancer.
A cancer specialist appointments are requested by referral from another healthcare professional.
When a non-cancer specialist suspects cancer often they will arrange for tests or procedures to confirm a cancer diagnosis. These may include biopsies, bloodwork, and imaging tests.
When the results of these are available and a diagnosis has been made they will often send what is called a "referral" to a cancer specialist who will work to co-ordinate expert care for the cancer diagnosis.
Cancer specialists usually work out of large health centers in major cities.
Cancer specialists need special resources to do their jobs and have specialized training that they can pass on to learning healthcare providers. As a result, they often work out of large urban centers.
Appointments to see a cancer specialist can take a while to be arranged - and the wait can be stressful.
It may take weeks before you are contacted with your appointment. You may be given your appointment with short notice. It is normal to feel anxious and frustrated with the time it takes to just find out the day and time when you will be seen.
Visits with cancer specialists can be stressful.
Waiting to find out more about a cancer diagnosis, including how it may impact the other aspects of your life and what kind of treatment is needed can be a stressful experience. There are also a lot of other things about the experience that people find stressful like finding parking, sitting in the waiting room beyond your scheduled time waiting to be seen, and trying to remember everything the cancer specialist has to share. Additionally, you will probably meet more people than just your cancer specialist - including nurses, trainees, and administrative staff. It is not uncommon for people to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and exhausted with the experience.
Being prepared for your visit will increases that chances that you will have a positive experience at your appointment. The following sections include tips and advice from people that have been in your shoes as well as from healthcare professionals to help you navigate your first appointment. After you have reviewed the content below, check out the "Quick Reference Guide" at the top of the page for a handy checklist to help get you ready for this important meeting.
Give yourself time to plan and prepare the day before the visit.
Whether you are the one that has been diagnosed with cancer, or you are supporting someone living with a diagnosis, give yourself time to prepare before you need to rush out the door to make it to the appointment.
Ask yourself:
- Do I have a plan for getting to the specialist appointment? When will I need to leave my home? How will I get home?
- Do I want to arrive so I have time to eat a snack, find and use the bathroom, and figure out where the clinic?
- What information do I need to bring? Do I have a list of my medications?
Make a list of questions you want to ask ahead of time.
There is a good chance that before your first visit with a new cancer specialist you will have lots of questions. Take some time in the days before your appointment to get organized and identify what questions are important to you.
Some tips to help with this include:
- At the start of your visit let your cancer specialist team know that you have questions and ask when the time to go over them would be.
- Prioritize your questions ahead of time in case you only get a chance to ask a few and start with your high priority questions.
- You will probably find that at least some of your questions are answered without asking.
- Ask where you can find more information if you don't get all your questions answered.
Plan for the cancer specialist visit to take the whole day.
You probably have been given a very specific time when your appointment will start and how long it will be. But the time you will need to set aside for the appointment is likely longer.
Especially if it is your first visit, you might need extra time for unexpected tests or even to see another health professional. Depending on what happens in the appointment, you may also need some extra time afterwards to just decompress and collect yourself.
If you are scheduled to work or have other commitments around the appointment, it is not a bad idea to let your boss and whoever else know that you need the whole day for the appointment. As you become more familiar with what to expect with your visits, you might find that you can better predict how much you need to put into the meter and when you can return to your other duties – but for the first few visits it won’t hurt to play it safe.
Lastly, if you are planning on driving or you have someone that is driving you, consider how you are going to deal with parking. Worrying that the meter is going to run out if your appointment takes longer than you expect might may cause unnecessary stress. Consider paying for an hour or two more than when you expect your appointment to end, or even for the whole day, until you get a better idea of how long your appointments will take.
Learn and use strategies for dealing with stress in a healthy way.
Just like athletes need to relax in the days and hours leading up to a big event to perform their best, taking care of yourself before stressful parts of your cancer journey is important.
Taking care of yourself will help you be in a better place mentally and physically to work with your healthcare team and the people in your life that are sharing the cancer journey with you. In addition to getting organized in the days leading up to your appointment, try to set aside some time to relax, unwind, and do something you enjoy. It can be as simple as going for a walk outside, reading a book you enjoy, or going for coffee with a supportive friend.
If you can, bring a team to support you emotionally, physically, and to help gather information.
A first appointment with a new oncologist can be incredibly overwhelming. It is normal to struggle to remember what has been said, such as important information about diagnosis, treatment options, and what to expect in the future. Additionally, if you are the patient and difficult news is shared with you by the healthcare provider, you may not be in a good mental state to travel home alone.
A small team of one or two friends or family members who can drive the patient, drop them off at the front doors, figure out parking, take notes, ask the healthcare providers questions, and generally help the patient if they become overwhelmed will make the experience less stressful.
Consider recording important conversations with your healthcare providers.
Research shows that recording the conversations you have with your oncologist can be a good thing. Whether or not you have someone along with you that can take notes of what is said, using a device like your smartphone to record what the cancer specialist is sharing will give you a record you can refer to later to ensure you haven’t missed anything. Plus, the recording can be shared with other friends and family who are interested in learning what was said. Many people use the camera/video recording application on their smartphone to record their appointments.
Some centers offer a dedicated smartphone app or offer a consultation recording service, but any recording app will work. You can also purchase a handheld audio recorder from most office supply stores that will work well (just make sure you get the salesperson to show you how to use it).
Let the know cancer specialist know you would like to record the visit so you don't miss anything that is said and so you can share what is being communicated with the other people supporting you. If you are not able or interested in recording the visit, consider bringing a pen, paper, and something hard to write on so you, or someone accompanying you, can take notes.
Trusted Resources on This Topic
Working with your healthcare team - Content from the Canadian Cancer Society
Making the Most of Your First Appointment with Your Oncologist - Content from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
What can I do BEFORE my first appointment with the oncologist? - Content from OncoLink/University of Pennsylvania
Related Topics You May Be Wondering About
Coping With Anxiety and Stress - Content from the Canadian Cancer Society
Cancer and Work - Content from McGill University, Montreal Canada
Understanding Your Lab Test Results - Content from the American Cancer Society
Research Related to This Topic
Educational resources can help you understand the cancer journey. People can help you navigate it. While online resources can be valuable, sometimes the most helpful support comes from another person.
Your healthcare team is often a good place to start. Many communities also offer cancer navigators, counsellors, peer supporters, and other services that can provide guidance, support, and practical assistance.
Explore the CancerMaps Real-People Resources Directory to find organizations that can connect you with navigators, counsellors, peer supporters, and other people who can help.
Author: Dr. Maclean Thiessen MD PhD FRCPC, Medical Oncologist - Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Patient Contributors: The research participants in them first CancerMaps research project. Go to scientific publication.
This page reflects the experiences of the patients and clinicians involved in its development and review. This page was developed with input from research participants experiencing cancer in Alberta, Canada. Healthcare systems, care pathways, services, and patient experiences vary across regions and over time.
First Published: April 21, 2022 Revised: October 7, 2022
Initial Development: Content based on a data collected and analyzed as part of the CancerMaps research project. Iteratively reviewed with study participants until content and study results finalized.
Date Reviewed: This CancerMap was updated on July 3 2026 to reflect the CancerMap Inc. revised format. Content was not otherwise revised.