Primary care providers are usually the first-line of support for managing our day-to-day health needs. Because our hematologist/oncologist focus is primarily on our cancer diagnosis, it’s critical to establish care with a PCP to help manage our overall health.  When you’re unsure if a question or condition is for your cancer doctor or PCP, having established relationships with both makes it easier to ask these questions.  Plus, establishing this relationship early helps to ease the stress of trying to find a PCP before or after starting treatment. 

It’s very important to stay on top of your overall health and it’s easy to forget about this when you’re focused on your cancer diagnosis.  Make sure to schedule your annual physical with your primary care physician.  At this appointment, ask about which types of screenings are appropriate.  If a screening is required by a specialist, ask your doctor for a referral.   Always check with your insurance to make sure your appointments are covered.

• Cancer Screening Guidelines by Age
• Annual Health & Wellness Screenings

A healthy diet can boost energy, speed recovery, reduce treatment adverse effects, and boost the immune system. Nutrition is complicated, especially at this period.

• Nutrition for People with Cancer
• Nutrition Services | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Staying up to date on your vaccines will help your immune system fight infections faster and more effectively.  Depending on the vaccine, a healthy immune system can take at least 2 weeks for a vaccination to work. This makes the vaccination and timing of the vaccine equally important.  Because chemotherapy may weaken your immune system, being vaccinated before starting treatment can provide you will extra protections from viruses.

During Watch and Wait, talk with your primary care physician about which vaccinations you may need.  If you get a vaccination outside of your doctor’s office, make sure to get a vaccination card so your doctor can update your medical records.

• Vaccinations and Flu Shots for People with Cancer
• Vaccinations for cancer patients: What to know

Routine dental cleanings are usually scheduled twice a year.  This allows you and your dentist to stay on top of your oral hygiene.  If your dentist recommends dental work, you should schedule this as soon as possible.  It can take one month (or longer) to fully recover from dental work.  When you get this done proactively, you are reducing the need to cram dental work immediately before treatment.

• Cancer Therapies and Dental Considerations

Make sure your PCP and cancer care team have access to your medical records.  If your doctors are at different hospitals, you may need to sign a release form so this medical information is available for both teams to access.  Just ask the desk staff and they should be able to help you.  If your provider(s) offers an online portal, request an account.  This is another easy way of accessing your medical history. 

If your provider requests that you bring copies of your medical records with you, submit this request immediately.  It can take days or weeks to process.

One way to be proactive is to learn about your family’s health background.  Your doctors will ask you for this information at some point. Every family is different and not everyone is comfortable sharing this information, so it might take some time to put all of the pieces together.  This information will be helpful for your medical team, and it can also be helpful for you.  We cannot change our family health history.  But when we learn this information, it can often be a catalyst for changing behaviors, especially in scenarios where comorbidities may be more likely based on this history.

• Family Health History | CDC
• Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Risk Factors | American Cancer Society

Make a list of all the medications you’re currently taking.  This list should include all prescribed and over-the-counter medications, as well as any vitamins or supplements.  Write down the name and dose.  If you are super organized, you can take a photo of each item as another way to keep track.  When you do this, you’ll already have the list of your medications if you ever need to provide this to your medical team.