If your child is diagnosed with leukemia, you'll have lots of decisions to make. Open, honest communication with your child's doctor can help. 
Consider asking these questions, suggested by the <a href="[BASEDOMAIN]/healthinfo/bouncelink.aspx?shortcut=cancersoc" target="_blank">American Cancer Society</a> and the <a href="[BASEDOMAIN]/healthinfo/bouncelink.aspx?shortcut=nci" target="_blank">National Cancer Institute</a>:
<ul>
 <li>What type of leukemia does my child have? </li>
 <li>What is the stage of the disease? </li>
 <li>Will my child need more tests? </li>
 <li>What are the treatment choices? </li>
 <li>Which treatment or treatments do you recommend? Why? </li>
 <li>What are the short-term and long-term side effects of treatment? </li>
 <li>Would a clinical trial be right for my child? </li>
 <li>Have you treated other children who have this type of cancer? </li>
 <li>What is the best place for my child to be treated? </li>
 <li>How long will the treatment last? </li>
 <li>Will the treatment interfere with my child's school schedule? </li>
 <li>How long will my child be in the hospital? </li>
 <li>Can any of the treatments be given at home? Will I need special equipment? </li>
 <li>How likely is it that the treatment will work? </li>
 <li>If the treatment does work, how likely is it that the disease will come back again? </li>
 <li>When can my child go back to school? </li>
 <li>Should I keep my child away from people with certain diseases? </li>
 <li>Do you have information I can give to the school system about my child's needs during treatment? </li>
</ul>
This is a lot of information to take in at once, especially during such a trying time. It may help to write down the questions and answers, or bring a friend or tape recorder to the doctor visit.
Reviewed 4/26/2024

Leukemia: Questions to ask your child's doctor

Your doctor can help you understand the disease, its treatments and what to expect.