Should I Be Worried if My Doctor Suggests We “Wait and Watch” My Cancer?

An oncologist explains why doctors sometimes recommend a “watch and wait” approach. 

Minh Dang Nguyen, MD, an oncologist with USC Newport Beach Oncology, part of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Keck Medicine of USC, explains why medical surveillance is sometimes the appropriate next step. 

It can be normal to feel apprehensive if your doctor suggests watching and waiting to monitor your cancer. But I would say that your concern should depend on your situation.  

For instance, a doctor might rightly suggest watching and waiting to see if the type of cancer a patient has is slow moving and not very aggressive, or if the patient is frail. Some doctors might not want to risk treating cancer in a super aggressive way if a patient is of advanced age, their cancer is not developing quickly and the treatment might be more toxic than the disease itself. This can be the case with some slow growing prostate cancers. 

But there may be other ways to approach treatment. For instance, even if a patient is elderly, they still might be very healthy and able to tolerate treatment. In this case, if you are uncomfortable with the prospect of “watching and waiting,” you can get a second opinion from another doctor to make sure they think that advice is warranted. It’s also a good idea to seek a second opinion if you want to pursue a specific treatment, but your current doctor doesn’t recommend it. Getting another point of view can help you make the right treatment decision in this case.  

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