Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
A printable surgery checklist for the family | CION Cancer Clinics
A family checklist for cancer surgery covers five things: the papers to carry, the bags to pack, the questions to ask the team, the jobs to share, and the home to set up for the return. This page is that list. Print it from your browser or screenshot each section for the family group, and put a name, not only a tick, against every line. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Muralidhar MuddusettyConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery, AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- What should a family checklist for cancer surgery cover?
- Which documents must be in the folder?
- What goes in the patient's bag, and in the attendant's?
- What needs doing in the week before, on the day, and after?
- What do families assume that a checklist catches?
- What should you ask the team before the operation?
- Common questions about preparing the family for surgery
The short answer
What should a family checklist for cancer surgery cover?
Five things: the papers to carry, the bags to pack, the questions to ask, the jobs to share, and the home to set up for the return. This page is that list. Print it from your phone's browser, or screenshot each section and send it to the family group.
How to use it
Go through it once as a family, a week before admission if you can. Put a name against every item, not only a tick. A checklist with ticks and no names is how three people bring the Aadhaar card and nobody brings the medicines list.
Who it is for
The relative organising the admission, usually the son, daughter or spouse. The patient can read it too, but the point of the list is that the patient should not have to remember any of it.
What this checklist cannot do
It cannot replace the instructions your own surgical team gives you. Your centre will tell you when to stop eating, which medicines to take on the morning, and what time to arrive. Those instructions override anything here. Where the two differ, follow the team.
Every hospital has its own admission rules. Ask the surgeon's office for their list as well, and merge the two.Papers
Which documents must be in the folder?
- Patient's Aadhaar card, original and two photocopies
- Attendant's ID and a phone number answered day and night
- Passport-size photographs of the patient
- Every biopsy, scan and blood report, in date order
- The surgeon's advice for admission and the pre-operative test results
- A written list of every medicine the patient takes, with strengths
- Aarogyasri, EHS, CGHS or ECHS card, or the insurance policy and e-card
- Any referral or permission letter the scheme needs
- Previous discharge summaries, if the patient has had surgery before
- A notebook and pen for the ward round
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistBags
What goes in the patient's bag, and in the attendant's?
Two small bags are easier than one large one. Label both with the patient's name and the attendant's number.
The patient's bag
Loose front-opening clothes that do not pull over the head, and slippers with a grip. Nothing valuable; jewellery, watches and expensive phones stay at home.
Pack
- Two sets of loose clothes and underwear
- Toothbrush, comb, soap, a small towel
- Spectacles, hearing aid, dentures and their cases
- Phone and a long charging cable
The attendant's bag
You may be in the room for days. Pack as if for a short trip, and include something to do during the long quiet hours.
Pack
- A change of clothes and a light shawl or blanket
- A steel bottle, dry snacks and your own medicines
- The document folder
- Power bank and earphones
Leave at home
Cash beyond small change, gold, home-cooked food unless the ward allows it, and anything the ward has said not to bring. Ask about flowers and outside food before someone carries them in.
In order
What needs doing in the week before, on the day, and after?
-
The week before
Confirm the admission date and time. Check the scheme or insurance approval has been requested. Agree the attendant rota and name a back-up. Ask the surgeon's office what the patient should do about regular medicines; do not decide this yourselves.
-
The day before
Pack both bags and the folder. Follow the fasting instructions the team gave. Charge the phones. Arrange the transport and who is driving. Tell the wider family who the messenger is.
-
Admission day
Arrive at the time given, with the folder. One attendant stays, the rest go home and wait for the messenger's update. Write down the hospital number and the ward's phone extension.
-
The day of the operation
Someone stays outside the theatre or in the waiting area. Have the attendant pass, the phone charged and the surgeon's contact ready. Expect the wait to feel longer than it is.
-
Before discharge
Ask for the discharge summary, the medicine list, the wound care instructions and the follow-up date. Ask what signs need a call. Sort the final bill and any approval the evening before if you can.
-
The first week at home
Have the room ready, the medicines bought and the helpline number on the fridge. Keep the attendant rota going. Recovery does not end at the hospital gate.
Leave a number, we will call you
One field. No form to fill in, and no charge for the call.
Commonly believed
What do families assume that a checklist catches?
"The hospital will have copies of all our reports."
Only of the tests done there. Reports from another hospital or lab may not be on the system, and the surgeon wants to see them. Carry everything, even the ones you think are old.
"We can sort the insurance on the day."
Approval for cashless cover or a scheme can take days, and asking on admission day can delay the operation or leave you paying a deposit you did not expect. Start the week before.
"The patient knows their own medicines."
Under stress, most people forget a strength or a brand, and a wrong list is worse than no list. Write it out at home, from the actual strips and bottles, and put it in the folder.
"Once we are home, the hard part is over."
For the family, the first week at home is often harder than the hospital stay, because the nurses are gone. Plan the home rota and the equipment before discharge, not after.
Questions
What should you ask the team before the operation?
Write the questions down and take them to the consultation. One person asks; one person writes the answers. The answers go in the folder, so the relative who was not there can read them.
About the operation
What is being removed and why? What are the alternatives the team considered? What are the main risks for this patient in particular? How long is the operation expected to take, and where will the family wait? Will the patient go to intensive care afterwards, and is that routine for this operation?
About the stay and the return
How many nights is a typical stay for this operation? Who tells the family when it is over? What will the patient need help with at home, and for roughly how long? Will there be drains, a catheter or a feeding tube, and who will teach us to manage them?
About money and paperwork
What is the estimate, and what does it leave out? Has the scheme or insurer approved it yet, and for how much? Whom do we call during the stay if we have a question about the bill? Ask for every answer in writing where you can.
No question is too small. The team would rather answer it now than on the morning of surgery.Questions we are asked
Common questions about preparing the family for surgery
Can I print this page?
Yes. Use your phone or computer browser's print option, or take a screenshot of each section and share it on the family group. The lists are written so they still make sense when read one line at a time on a small screen. There is no separate file to download, and nothing to sign up for.
How far in advance should we start the checklist?
About a week before admission is enough for most families, provided the scheme or insurance approval has already been requested. If the operation has been arranged at short notice, do the papers and the medicine list first, the bags second, and let the messenger sort the rota by phone.
Should the patient stop any medicines before surgery?
Only on the instruction of the surgeon, anaesthetist or the doctor who prescribes them. Some medicines are continued, some are paused, and the timing is decided for each patient. Never stop or change a medicine on your own because a relative or a website said so. Put the question on the list and ask the team.
What food should we bring for the patient?
Ask the ward first. After many operations the patient is on hospital food or nothing by mouth for a while, and outside food can interfere with that. The attendant, on the other hand, needs proper meals, so plan tiffins for the person in the chair rather than the person in the bed.
How many family members should come on admission day?
Two is usually enough: the attendant who stays and one person to help with the desk and the bags, who then goes home. Large groups tire the patient, crowd the ward and are often asked to leave. Everyone else waits for the messenger's update.
What should we have ready at home before discharge?
A bed the patient can get in and out of easily, a clear path to the toilet, a chair with arms, the medicines already bought, dressings if the team asked for them, and the helpline and ward numbers written somewhere visible. Ask the team whether any equipment, such as a raised toilet seat or a walker, is needed.
Who should keep the folder after we get home?
The same person who held it in hospital. Add the discharge summary, the final bill, every receipt and the pathology report when it comes. It goes to every follow-up visit, and it is what you will need for a reimbursement claim or if the patient is ever treated somewhere else.
Is there a separate checklist for the attendant's own health?
The attendant's bag on this page covers the basics: your own medicines, food, something warm and a way to charge the phone. Beyond that, plan to sleep in a bed most nights and hand over shifts. Our page on looking after yourself as a caretaker goes into it properly.
Meet the Specialists
17+ senior cancer specialists. One panel for your case.
Trained at AIIMS, Tata Memorial, and leading international centres. Combined 150+ years of experience. Every complex case is reviewed by 3+ of them — together.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vinay Mamidala
MBBS, MS(General Surgery), M.Ch(Surgical Oncology), FMAS, FARIS(Ongoing)
Surgical Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Hematologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vajja Sandeep Kumar
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), DrNB (Surgical Oncology), FALS Oncology
Surgical Oncologist
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Sources
- NHS — Having an operation (surgery)
- Macmillan Cancer Support — Surgery
- Cancer Research UK — Surgery for cancer
- American Cancer Society — Preparing for Surgery
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Managing the Paperwork and Bills During AdmissionThe forms and approvals in detailThe Days Before Your OperationWhat the patient is asked to do before admissionSharing Caretaking Between Family MembersPutting names on the jobsHospital Bed and Equipment at HomeSetting the house up for the returnCaretaker and Family Guide to SurgeryThe full guide for families
Talk to us
Not sure what your centre will ask for?
Call the helpline before admission and we will walk through the list with you, including what your scheme or insurer needs. One helpline serves every CION centre.