Ann, CAR T patient
Lisa, CAR T patient
Marc, CAR T patient

ANN: I happen to have a very close relationship with my oncologist. I think she's just the type of person that's very empathetic and she's always been really positive. My doctor and I always talk before making a decision. My family's usually involved with that talk, so it's a family decision.

LISA: I had a good relationship with my primary care doctor. He was amazing and he helped me in this journey. My primary care doctor also referred me to a specialist, and he asked my opinion and we'd sit down and talk with each other about, "Well, what do you think would be the best option for me?"—and he listened.

MARC: I feel like the first specialist that I worked with really listened to my needs. She connected with me on a human level, and that put me in a position to have trust and confidence in her. She actually told me what she thought—like it wasn't just giving me the information and the options, and that made it a lot easier for me to make the decisions that I had to make. My doctor really took the time to walk me through the CAR T process, explaining exactly what happened with my cells and what the potential side effects were and what likely recovery looked like.

ANN: What gave us the confidence is my doctor mainly. We put all our trust, our faith in her. We didn't go home and talk about it. We made the decision right then and there in the office that day—that this is what we were going to do.

LISA: I did have the experience that I was telling somebody my symptoms, and they disregarded what I was saying. I'm glad I advocated for myself and got another opinion. I believe in second opinions, and second opinions has opened up more treatment options for me. It was my responsibility to make sure I got that second opinion—not my doctor’s. And you do need to advocate for yourself because it is your life. I'm so relieved the healthcare team I found listened to me, because it is ultimately our decision to make that treatment choice.

MARC: It is critically important to have a level of comfort with your doctor. Sometimes that requires that you, as the patient, really advocate for yourself—that you step up and keep pushing issues until you get the information that you think you need. My wife, Melissa, and I always went in with a game plan that was written down, because it's so easy to get lost in the thought and emotion of the moment.

ANN: I think it's really important that you advocate for yourself, because if you don't, who will advocate for you? Our doctor kind of addressed my needs before I even knew I had those needs. She made it easy for us, and she made it easy for me to advocate, because I knew that she would always be there for me.