Once you make the decision not to accept treatment, you'll want to plan for the following:
- Make plans to change your mind. You may never change it, of course. But you want to know what your options are. You want to know at what point your recommended treatment is no longer an option, or what other possible treatments are or are not available to you any longer.
- Manage your own expectations about what your experience will be going forward. It will be difficult to figure out specific time frames, but you should be able to get a sense of what the chronology will be. Ask your doctor what signs to look for in your body or what kinds of things you can or should not do (drive a car or take a vacation, for example). Are there any things you can do to improve your experience? Anything you should avoid that will make it worse?
- Make sure your advance directives are in place if your refusal to be treated will mean you will die.
- Talk to your loved ones and other important people in your life, such as your pastor, priest or rabbi, and your lawyer. They need to know why you made the decision you did and what your expectations are since you've made it. Don't expect them all to support you right away; they may disagree with your decision.
