I’ve just been told I have cancer. What happens now?

Some sentences can make the world feel like it has stopped. “You have cancer.”

After those words, you may hear everything your doctor says and remember almost none of it. You may be thinking about your children, your partner, or even wondering whether your life will ever feel normal again. If this is where you are, know this: You don’t have to figure everything out today.

Start with understanding

A cancer diagnosis is not the end of the conversation. It is the beginning of understanding what is happening in your body and what your care may involve.

Your healthcare team may need additional information about the type of cancer, its location and extent before recommending an appropriate treatment approach. This may involve diagnostic tests, imaging or other assessments.

It can feel like a lot, but each step helps your healthcare team understand your condition and determine what comes next.

Ask questions

You don’t need to be afraid of asking your doctor to explain something again. We have doctors who are ready to assist you and answer every question.

We advise

Write your questions down. Take someone you trust with you if you can.

Ask for something to be explained again if you don’t understand it. Being informed is not difficult. It is being involved in your own care.

Your treatment will be personal to you.

Cancer treatment is not the same for everyone. Depending on the diagnosis and individual circumstances, treatment may involve chemotherapy, radiotherapy, brachytherapy, surgery or other approaches.

Your healthcare team considers the information available about your cancer and your individual circumstances when developing your treatment plan. At OncAura, this belief in individualised care is central to our approach. Your diagnosis describes the disease. It does not tell us everything about you.

And then there is everything else.

There is no single “right” way to respond to a cancer diagnosis. You may be worried about how your family will cope; sometimes it may be you, and your inability to respond to this the way you had intended.

This is why OncAura’s approach looks beyond treatment alone. We believe in caring for the mind, body and soul, bringing advanced oncology and radiology together with a compassionate, patient-centred approach.

Take the journey one step at a time.

You do not have to know how the entire journey will unfold. For today, the next step is simply understanding your diagnosis. One appointment. One conversation. One step at a time. You can’t figure everything all at once.

You are more than your diagnosis, and your cancer journey is uniquely yours.