OnCo
Living with cancer· Appointment prep

Appointment sheet: Adenosquamous and squamous carcinoma of the gallbladder

One page to bring and write on: your details, the questions for Adenosquamous and squamous carcinoma of the gallbladder plus your own, the words you may hear, what to bring, the treatments the standard of care names, and room for the answers and agreed next steps. What you type stays in this browser. Print it or save it as a PDF. New to all this? Start with the first 60 days. Orientation, not medical advice.

8 questions

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Your own questions

Shared with the prep pack, so questions you add there appear here too.

Print or save as PDF

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Appointment sheet

Adenosquamous and squamous carcinoma of the gallbladder

Prepared with OnCo (onco.cc/prep/gallbladder-adenosquamous-squamous-carcinoma/). Orientation, not medical advice; your team knows your case.

My details

Name
Date of appointment
Hospital and clinician
Who is coming with me

What I know, what is unclear, changes to discuss

Saved in this browser
What I know so far
What is unclear to me
Changes since last time

My questions

8 on the sheet
Newly diagnosed
  1. 1.What is my exact diagnosis, stage, and grade, and which tests established them?
  2. 2.Which biomarkers have been tested on my tumour (for example Share of squamous component, Grade, T categoryand node status, PD-L1 combined positive score, Claudin 18.2), and what were the results?
  3. 3.Which subtype is my cancer, and does that change the recommended treatment?
  4. 4.Is germline (inherited) genetic testing recommended for me or my family?
All stages
  1. 5.For my situation (all stages), which of the standard options do you recommend and why?
  2. 6.Am I a candidate for Gemcitabine + cisplatin, and what side effects should I expect?
Any stage
  1. 7.Would a second opinion at a high-volume centre change anything, and can you help arrange it?
  2. 8.What supportive care (symptom control, nutrition, exercise, mental health, financial help) is available from the start?

The words I may hear

  • Squamous cell carcinoma: A carcinoma arising from the flat, layered cells that line surfaces exposed to wear: skin, mouth, throat, oesophagus, cervix, the larger airways.
  • Radical (extended) cholecystectomy: The cancer operation for gallbladder cancer: the gallbladder (if still present) is removed together with a rim of the liver it sits against and the lymph nodes along the bile duct and liver blood vessels.
  • Grade: How abnormal the cancer cells look under the microscope, from grade 1 (close to normal, slow) to grade 3 or 4 (wildly abnormal, fast).
  • Chemoradiation (chemoradiotherapy, CRT): Radiotherapy given at the same time as chemotherapy, which sensitises the cancer to radiation.

Tests and results to bring

Biomarker results to ask for: Share of squamous component (25 percent threshold), Grade, T category (usually T3 or T4 at presentation) and node status, PD-L1 combined positive score (above 1 in 96 percent of one cohort), Claudin 18.2 (28 percent of one cohort).

Bring copies of scan reports, pathology and blood results, and a list of every medicine and supplement.

The treatments I may be offered

From the standard of care recorded for this cancer; which apply depends on your stage and biomarkers. Ask which the team recommends and why.

Answers and next steps

Saved in this browser
What I was told
Agreed next steps, dates and who to call