Ask your Doctor

Living with silicosis is a difficult challenge, and you naturally want to be comfortable with the medical people on your team. Start by establishing good relationships with your doctor and with everyone responsible for helping with your care. Don't be afraid to ask anything that occurs to you, even if you think it's trivial. This process is all about you.

Here are a few questions many people ask:

• What kind of silicosis do I have?
• What does it mean if my silicosis advances?
• Tell me about the stages of this lung disease and where I am now.
• How do you typically treat this stage? Why?
• Do I have any other options?
• Are there risks or side effects to your suggested treatments? What are they?
• Based on what you know so far, how will this disease progress with me?

Take the time to write down your own questions. When you're sitting and talking to the doctor, you may not be able to remember everything you wondered about before. Your doctor won't mind if you bring a list and make notes. Other topics you might want to discuss include recovery times, non-traditional treatments, getting second opinions, and participating in clinical trials or in tests of experimental drugs.

Don't hesitate to contact us with any additional questions you may have. HendlerLaw now represents people who have been diagnosed with silicosis. Call us at 1-800-443-6353 or 512-473-3672; or e-mail us at help@SilicosisAdvice.com.