How to organise appointments during cancer treatment

Keeping appointment information together

With a Sarah account, you can record upcoming appointments and add them to your device’s calendar. Where supported and enabled, Sarah can also provide reminder notifications.

You can upload your appointment letter so that important details and preparation instructions are close at hand. After all, who goes anywhere without their phone now?

Adding all this information is optional. You can use as much or as little of Sarah as feels helpful to you.

Preparing questions in advance

Sarah has a dedicated Questions section where you can save things you want to ask your care team.

There are also optional prompts to help when you know you have questions but cannot quite work out where to begin. Your question list can be downloaded before your appointment, which is useful when hospital Wi-Fi or mobile reception is unreliable.

Writing questions down beforehand can also take away some of the pressure of trying to remember everything in the moment.

Sharing the practical load

If you choose to invite someone you trust as a supporter, they may be able to add appointments and questions, depending on the level of access you give them.

This can help share some of the practical organisation and give the person supporting you a clearer idea of what is coming up. You remain in control of the access you provide.

Keeping a medication list

Sarah includes a Medication List where you can record medication names, doses and how frequently you take them.

Having this information together can be helpful when you are asked to recall your medication during an appointment or hospital stay. Depending on the permissions you choose, a trusted supporter can also help maintain or view the list.

Recording what happened afterwards

During or after an appointment, you can use Appointment Notes to record information and important points you want to remember.

There is also a Things to Do section for any actions that come out of the appointment, such as making a telephone call, collecting something or preparing for the next visit.

Tracking how you have been feeling

With so much happening, particularly when fatigue is involved, it can be difficult to remember exactly how you felt several days or weeks ago.

Sarah’s Symptom Tracker provides a place to record what you have experienced. You can download this information and use it to help describe your experience to your healthcare team.

The Journal offers a more personal space to reflect on how things have been, note any patterns you have noticed and record points you may want to discuss with your care team.

Neither feature interprets symptoms or provides medical advice. New or worsening symptoms should always be discussed with an appropriate healthcare professional.

Finding support and recording costs

Sarah’s Resources and Benefits & Support sections signpost to trusted UK organisations, charities and sources of information.

The Cost Tracker gives you somewhere to record treatment-related expenses, such as travel and parking. You can also attach receipts and download your cost records, which may be useful if some expenses can be reclaimed. Eligibility and reimbursement decisions remain with the relevant organisation.

Why I created Sarah

I am passionate about helping to solve a problem I have experienced personally.

I have thought carefully, and spoken with people close to me, about what might make the practical side of treatment feel a little less overwhelming. Sarah cannot remove the fear or uncertainty, but I hope it can provide one calm place to keep important information organised during some of life’s most difficult moments.

Sarah Treatment Support is free to use at sarahtreatmentsupport.com.

I would love you to try it and share your honest feedback so I can continue improving it and supporting more people.