A few weeks ago I blogged that its really just A Bunch of Numbers on how doctors just give us numbers and that's all they are when we hear statistics about survival, prognosis, age or whatever from our doctors.
Now a doctor says the same thing in this article, A Doctor's Struggle with Numbers.
"Oncologists are notoriously bad at predicting survival, and none of
us wants to be known as “the doctor who told me I would be dead by now,”
the doctor who made a prediction of imminent demise, sending a family
into a terrifying tailspin of goodbyes, only to be proven wrong and
subsequently mocked for years to come. One of my patients, upon being
told by another doctor that she had two months to live, held Christmas
in April so she could spend one last holiday with her grandchildren. She
survived to see two more Christmases.
At the same time, we need
to be truthful and give guidance to people who want time to prepare,
time to write wills and pay off debts, to say goodbyes and to leave
instructions, to tie up the loose ends of a life now heavy with meaning.
We try to provide hope, but not false hope.
So
we give ranges, starting with the best estimate of survival, because my
patients have told me they shut down after they hear the worst
estimate. We talk about setting goals, about maximizing quality of life,
because we don’t have much leverage with quantity of life. We emphasize
spending as much time as possible with family and friends, and as
little time as possible with people wearing white coats. We tell them
we’re not going to give up if they don’t give up.
But the truth is, we don’t know."
I always appreciate honesty from my doctors. If one of my doctors said to me, instead of giving me a range, something like 'statistics say you have a 10-20% chance of [fill in the blank], but my feeling is that you are on the high end of this due to your medical history'. I would be very appreciative of this little 'translation' or personal input from the doctor.
I can understand the doctor's point. They only have the numbers given to them but quoting statistics learned in medical school does nothing for me. Please add in a little bedside manner for me. Thanks.
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1 comment:
Caroline, thank you for sharing this snippet inside the mind of a doc trying to do right by us. Physicians are often placed in impossible positions. It's important to remember that our illnesses are hard on them too. After all, we're *all* only human! :-)
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