Decision Making

Back in junior high I think, we had a class where we were instructed for the next class to make a list of all the decisions we had made in that 24 hour period. I thought I did it right and came into class the next day with a list of three decisions I had made. I quickly learned how wrong I was.

Another student stood up with his list and it was long - it listed everything from deciding when to leave the classroom the day before, which way to turn in the hallway, whether to got his locker or not, etc.

How wrong was I? Phenomenally. And it was a big learning lesson for me as well.

We make decisions constantly. What to eat for breakfast, when to get out of bed, what to wear, when to shower, what to eat. We make most decisions fairly easily because they are habits or because they are fairly simple. Do I want eggs for breakfast or a yogurt and fruit?

But when we come to medical decisions, they can get very complicated. The first ones are usually easy - does that hurt enough and for long enough that I should call my doctor? Which doctor to call? Then they can quickly get complicated. Surgery? Post treatment options?

For cancer, you can throw in all those fun decisions - chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, and more. Part of the decision making process can include not just whether to try some of the treatment options but how difficult will they be to survive them. Also what about your quality of life during treatment?

We constantly make decisions. Some are just harder than others. We just need to decide what is most important to us at that time and then make our decision.