Managing Our Own Patient
Expectations
(as aired on
HealthLink on
Air -- January through March
2008)
This is the 6th tip in a
series about communicating
better with our doctors.
.................................
Previously, we covered
your
first conversation with
your doctor about
treatment options.
You want and need to
know about all the
possibilities, including
the fact that sometimes
getting no treatment is
an option.
Now –
I want to step back a moment,
because this is very personal to
me. When I was
diagnosed with cancer in 2004,
the doctor was very clear with
me on what my treatment needed
to be. Now, granted, it was a
rare form of lymphoma I was
going to be treated for – but
the doctor was very clear – and
arrogant -- about what he called
my ONLY option.
And,
of course, I was scared and it
would have been so easy just to
default to his recommendation. I
was prepared to begin chemo, but
my wiser head prevailed, thank
heavens, and I decided to
get a second opinion.
We
haven’t talked about getting a
second opinion in awhile, so
that’s what I want to remind you
about today…. If you get a
diagnosis that will require
treatment that is at all
invasive, like surgery or chemo,
or if you are told you have a
chronic disease that will
require a lifetime of treatment
to manage it – please, please
please get a second opinion!
Most
doctors will support the idea of
getting a second opinion, and
will provide you with the test
reports and notes you need to
get that second opinion. Do not
ask doctor #1 to refer you to a
colleague for a second opinion.
In order to get the most
objective second opinion, do
some of your own research, find
a doctor who is located across
town or who practices at a
different hospital – and get
that second opinion.
This
is a great way to help manage
your own expectations – because
it’s a way you are managing your
own care, too. It is very
empowering to take these kinds
of steps. Understanding how two
doctors think – whether they
agree or disagree – can go a
long way toward YOUR most
successful decision-making.
A case
in point? My second opinion I
referred to a minute ago – what
I learned were two things, and
one changed the course of my
life. First, that there was a
good chance I didn’t have cancer
at all. It turns out THAT was
correct. I did not.
And
second – and even more germane
to this conversation – is that
contrary to the treatment
recommendation of chemotherapy
by doctor #1, the preferred
treatment for my diagnosis – if
it had been correct -- would
have been a very brief series of
radiation treatments. It turned
out doctor number one was not
only arrogant, but wrong about
the best option for treatment,
too.
I
shudder each time I remember
that I almost didn’t get that
second opinion.
So for
you? With your second doctor’s
opinion, and the conversation
about treatment options taken
care of, you’ll be in a position
to begin making decisions about
which treatment option will work
best for you….
Link here for a master list
of tips in this series.
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Trisha Torrey is Every Patient’s
AdvocateTM.
She offers no medical advice,
but empowers those who
want to learn more about
diagnosis and treatment options
by
providing useful tools and
resources.
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