When a patient is diagnosed with a cancer or disorder of the blood, it is extremely important that the patient and their families do not jump to conclusions based on what other people have to say. Each person has different characteristics (health, age, gender etc), and each type of leukaemia and lymphoma is different, so the treatment and prognosis (response to treatment) differ for each patient. The most important goal of the doctors is to provide the patient with the best quality of life based on their illness. If it is an acute (fast growing) disease, the goals of treatment will be different compared to the more chronic (slow growing) disease. It is very difficult to give exact information on how a person is going to respond to treatment, and how long they will have the cancer. There are always new drugs and treatment options being developed, so it is important the the patient and their families have hope for the future.

It is very important that the friends and family that are there to support the patient also understand this. Many emotions will be experienced by the patient and all the caregivers and it is always advisable that the family and friends seek some kind of counseling in order to best help each other.