What Does That Symptom Mean?

Right now I am contemplating the additional pain I have been having in my fingers/hands and toes/feet recently. I do not expect I have hand/foot cancer but that my rheumatoid is doing funny things. I am not researching online, I am going to send my doctor a message. That is the mature adult thing to do.

Normal people think that headache or scratchy throat is nothing. But to cancer people a headache is a brain tumor and a sore throat is esophageal cancer. Along with your cancer diagnosis  you learn that Dr Google and Wikipedia are not your friends for medical information.

But with cancer, every little symptom gets a new meaning. And the emotional stress can be amazing. Which is why its time to stop googling symptoms. Ask your doctor instead.

Dr Google, Dr Oz, and other bad resources

I often tell people to step away from Dr Google. But sometimes he sucks you in and you can't help it. Then there is Dr Oz who will be happy to get you to buy green coffee beans or something that someone supposedly believes will cure cancer. Well maybe Dr Oz isn't that bad but I think he's smarmy (definition: excessively or unctuously flattering, ingratiating, servile, etc.)

Finally we have those online symptom checkers to help us figure out what's wrong with us instead of going to the doctor. But they are usually wrong as well.  I admit to using online symptom checkers to see if I can figure out what is wrong with me. But since I have so many other things wrong with me, I usually ignore them too.

Now new research shows how bad the symptom checkers can be. There are many good health websites, such as WebMD, maybe even your hospital. But the symptom checkers where they try to diagnose what you have when you select your symptoms, they are not so good. They aren't so great at figuring out what is wrong with you. And they don't always send you to the doctor when you should go and sometimes send you to the doctor unnecessarily. Use your common sense instead. Or if you aren't sure on your common sense, phone a friend.

Stepping away from Dr. Google

I did it again. I asked Dr Google about symptoms. What the hell was I thinking? I had myself mentally on the way to the Emergency Room to get some help before I died overnight. Then sanity prevailed, I shut off the computer and went to bed. I am still alive. But I have increased the list of questions for my doctor on Wednesday or whatever day it is that I see her.

Why do I ask Dr Google any questions any more? I have no idea. I should know better. I mean with my medical history, blah, blah, blah, I am always a special case I think. I am not normal. I need to accept that.

But the real question is what is normal? What is this damn new normal all cancer people are supposed to achieve anyway? I am not sure Dr Google would know anything about the fictional new normal in the first place. Maybe I need Dr. Oz instead.

Crap. I'll just go to real doctors for answers to real questions instead.

Dr Google or what

So I have written about googlechondria recently. We are all victims of it. Our mind takes over our fingers and we google away until we are sure we have stage IV brain cancer or the bubonic plague. Then we go to our doctor and they look at our symptoms, listen to our complaints (whines), and give us a diagnosis and treatment plan.

But what about if there needs to be a little more? What if the patient self educates and asks a panel of experts for their thoughts?

Take a look at www.cancergrace.org. I know the video is long - 10 minutes - but at the end it directs you to CancerGrace where you can ask a panel of experts about your cancer questions. I think this is very cool.

My problem is then to remember about this site so that if (when) I have cancer questions again, I can go ask them there. That may be beyond my chemo brain's ability to remember anything.

They make it so confusing

I think they do this just to make sure us medical patients are on our toes. They say 'you have an anal fissure and here is some goo to put on it'. The goo comes with instructions: "This medicine is a vasoldilator* used to prevent angina (chest pain)." Hmmm... My anal fissure does not cause chest pain. but then it says. "It may also be used to treat other conditions as determined by your doctor." Well that is helpful. But then it gives all kinds of instructions on how to use it for chest pain. Not very helpful. (*I dont know what this word means but it is on the package instructions.)

So I use Google. (Google is your friend. Google can tell you how to run the world or treat any medical condition.) I start googling and find out that yes indeed nitroglycerine ointment is used to help with anal fissures (I am sure you wanted to know all about anal fissures so I am so glad to be able to help you out with this). But it only works 60% of the time AND 20% of the people using it get headaches. I have a headache. And last night I felt weird so I went to bed early. Grrr.... I have decided I will try it for the weekend and then on Monday if I still have headaches and feel weird I will call the doctor back. Grr, grr, grr.

Today we have a weekend at home. For a change. For the first time since June. We have plenty to do, starting with a little morning walk (and Walter calls them death marches...). Then weeding, lawn mowing, make brownies for a party this afternoon. Yes, that means we will even have a social life!!!!