It is completely normal to want to understand everything that is happening when you have received a cancer diagnosis. What the disease means, what treatments are available, and what the future will look like. At the same time, it can feel like you are drowning in all the information, there is so much to read, hear, and take in, and sometimes different sources say different things.
For information about your specific situation, it is always best to talk to your treating doctor or nurse. But you can also go to 1177.se or the Cancer Society's website for more general medical information and to make sure it is correct.
Advice on information seeking and source criticism
When you search for information or just take in what others share with you, it is always good to be critical of the source. This means asking yourself a few things:
Who is saying this?
A trained expert, an authority, or a private individual?
What is the purpose?
Are they trying to inform you, sell something, or influence you based on a personal opinion?
When is the information from?
Is it completely new or updated, or several years old?
Are there several reliable sources that say the same thing?
Is the information repeated by, for example, 1177, the Cancer Society, or your contacts in healthcare?
Based on the answers to these questions, you will be a good way on your way to assessing whether you should be skeptical of the information. If you still feel unsure, you can always ask your doctor or nurse for help. Write down the questions so that you remember them until the next time you have contact with healthcare!
1177
1177 is an official website for everything related to healthcare in Sweden. It is available to everyone in society and contains facts about healthcare and diseases. You can be sure that the information on 1177 is fact-checked by experts. Much of the digital contact with healthcare also takes place here. If you have a BankID or other digital identification, you can log in to a private page that only you can see, where you can read your medical records, send and receive messages, or book appointments with healthcare.
1177 is available around the clock. Visit https://www.1177.se/
My Pages
When you log in to “My Pages” on 1177, you will go to a private portal where you can use the digital services available in healthcare, such as sending messages to your clinic or seeing which certificates your doctor has issued. It is also from here that you will continue to your medical records or My Care Plan if you have one.
Medical Records
In the Medical Records, you will find most of the medical information available about you. For example, you can read the healthcare staff's notes from your visits or see the results of your blood tests. When you choose to continue into “Medical Records” from “My Pages,” you will not immediately be shown things you may not want to see, such as X-ray results. You will first be asked if you want to see newer information (which can still be changed or that your doctor has not yet talked to you about) or not, after which you still need to actively go into the part of the medical records you want to read and find the specific date when it was recorded.
My Care Plan
My Care Plan is like 1177 but for your specific cancer diagnosis and you as a patient. There you will find more specific information about, for example, symptoms and treatments you can receive, or advice on exercise and diet. You will find my care plan under “Support and treatment” after logging in to 1177. If you have not been given access to My Care Plan, ask your contact nurse about it!