One evening recently, my honey and I were eating dinner when he suddenly remembered that we hadn’t looked for a specific spice at the grocery store that day. “It wasn’t on the list,” I said.
“True. But we also forgot to bring the list,” he retorted with a laugh. Then, looking at it, he saw we’d forgotten a few more items. We both laughed at our own silliness.
Can you relate? Do you need lists to remember things?
Less silly is when I forget to mention things I’ve been concerned about during my appointment with one of my doctors. I now have a solution for avoiding that and I want to share it with you in this post.
I was in our car on my way to the airport for a brief family holiday in warm Mexico when I noticed the voicemail from my oncologist on my phone. It informed me that the result of the needle biopsy on my right breast was negative. Yay! I could now change my in-person appointment in Vancouver to a teleconsultation. Again yay!
But it’s what happened (or rather, didn’t happen) during that later teleconsultation that prompted me to write this post.
In the meantime, and earlier this year, one of my clients, Patti Wohlin, an experienced and certified functional health coach (Health Keepers United), had invited me to take part in the beta run of her new course—Own Your Health: Transform Your Appointments in 6 Steps. I’m so glad I accepted!
Patti’s easy-to-learn online course is a game-changer for me and for anyone who needs to attend appointments with any kind of healthcare provider—primary care givers (also called family doctors), medical specialists, or alternative medicine practitioners. I wish I’d known sooner about this simple method used by all healthcare professionals.
Why? Even for those of us who approach healthcare systematically (like I mostly do), having a structured method to prepare for medical appointments simply makes sense. These six steps refine what many of us already try to do intuitively—they just make the process more reliable. And that’s how we transform a doctor’s visit from stressful to successful. Being better prepared helps us communicate our needs clearly with our doctor, so nothing gets overlooked. Maybe you’re among the many people who struggle to explain symptoms or forget to ask key questions. This simple preparation method helps your doctor help you—it’s like bringing a cheat sheet for better care.
A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.
Dalai Lama
Please, don’t talk to your doctor unprepared, like I did in my last teleconference with the oncologist. After discussing the positive results and agreeing to continue with tamoxifen, I ended the call feeling satisfied.
Yet later that evening, while updating my health notes, I realized I had missed the opportunity to ask about two concerns that had been quietly nagging at me: the potential connection between tamoxifen and weight gain, and those occasional sharp pains in my affected breast. Now these questions will have to wait six months for answers—a delay I could have avoided with better preparation.
Throughout my health journey, this journal has documented my experiences in navigating healthcare decisions. If I’ve endeavored to do anything at all, it’s to encourage you to be your own advocate. We’re not just passive patients—we must be active participants. I’ve wanted to model that. Being your own advocate isn’t just about being assertive—it’s about being methodical and thorough in managing your healthcare.
Taking Patti’s (now refined) course will help you be your best advocate, I’m sure of it. She not only takes you through the six steps in five short videos (running a total of 90 minutes) and the rationale behind this structured way to take notes, she provides a workbook and an easy-to-use template with worksheets for each step to make preparation a no-brainer. This is a skill-set you never knew you needed! It doesn’t matter what country or medical system you are in.
And there’s a huge bonus I think you’ll appreciate: twice monthly group coaching! I’ve been attending Patti’s coaching sessions and they are a safe space to ask questions and reflect on how others adapt the method to their specific healthcare situations. It’s useful to observe how different people implement the same structured approach and to be supported.
Now let’s make it even more affordable for you. I mentioned to Patti that my journal readers might benefit from her course. She kindly offered to extend a 40% discount to you, which I thought would be more valuable than a standard affiliate arrangement. This offer is open to you only for as long as Patti offers her course at the introductory price, so don’t wait too long.
If you’re ready to start upping your appointment preparedness now, click the button:
If you’d prefer to check out Patti’s sales page for more information, please do that, and then either return to this page and click the button, or ask me for the discount code. (Note: her video at the bottom of the page does not show up in my Firefox browser; only in Chrome.)
Being well-prepared before your appointment can reduce anxiety, save time, and ensure you receive the most effective care possible. Your health—or your loved one’s—deserves it.
Investing in health will produce enormous benefits.
Gro Harlem Brundtland
Looking back on my initial diagnosis and treatment decisions, I can see where having this structured approach would have helped organize my thoughts and questions better during those pivotal appointments.
I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts about preparing for medical appointments. What methods have you found helpful in managing your healthcare journey?
And let me know in the comments if you have any questions about this empowering course.
Glad your biopsy came back negative.
I always run my questions through ChatGPT and DeepSeek first.
It helps me prepare for the answers I might get from my doctor and see if they align.
Of course, I still follow my doctor’s advice—but I also like being able to say, “There might be other ways to look at this.”
ChatGPT told me that, yes, many people report weight gain especially around the abdomen while taking Tamoxifen—apparently due to hormonal changes.
And yes, Tamoxifen can occasionally cause breast tenderness or pain as part of how it interacts with estrogen receptors.
I could have discussed those issues with ChatGPT at length, which of course I did not do.
I now routinely check my medical records with ChatGPT. It tends to explain things far more clearly than some doctors, who often don’t have the time, patience, or communication skills.
And it helps to have written notes—something I rarely get from my doctor. I often think, “Wait, what exactly did he say again?”
Finally, ChatGPT sometimes offers alternatives to the medications or treatments prescribed by my doctor.
I always tell my doctor up front: “According to AI, this or that…” I get the sense that doctors are increasingly aware that patients are doing exactly that.
Good to hear from you, Sidney. Yes, I had already asked Aida (my name for chatGPT) as well as Perplexity, a better science research LLM. But as you say, better to have that discussion with the medical professional. As you know, the LLMs do hallucinate, and in matters as delicate as our health, better to get confirmation from the professionals. Thanks for checking for me, too. I got pretty much the same responses as you. Ingat!
Nice to hear from you again Francisca. Be prepared for them as you say. Have your questions ready and keep asking until you understand and can repeat back what was said. Always ask when next appt is !!!
Hi, Alison! As a health professional yourself, you would certainly know the good value of preparation! I’m sure it helps you to serve your patients/clients better when they engage in the process. Take care!