Is Too Much Knowledge a Bad Thing?
As care givers and as patients too, is knowing too much about your cancer a bad thing?
Maybe it’s better not to do so much research after a diagnosis. If the news is going to be bad, why not let the disease take it’s course? I’m not suggesting you give-up, but is it better to go with the information the doctor provides and be satisfied with it?
If the prognosis is good and there’s a high likelihood of cure or remission, then do you save yourself the anxiety of knowing everything there is to know about your illness before you turn the corner and resume life as it was?
The reason I’m asking is because last night, some one said to me, “Don’t you know too much about cancer?” This wasn’t about any one particular person’s cancer, just cancer in general. But it got me to thinking about how I’d gone straight to the Internet, like so many of us have done, when cancer enters our lives. And the questions presented to the doctor were endless. The answers to those questions, at least some of them, were heart breaking. They painted a bleak picture of what was to come in our case and I sometimes wonder, would I have been better off and just as prepared, if I hadn’t gone there?
Yet, to this day, I tell newcomers to cancer, “Do your homework.” “Knowledge is power in this fight.”
But…is too much knowledge a bad thing?
February 21, 2012 @ 10:37 pm
Thank you so much for shraing your story. You write beautifully and express a hard issue so well. I wish you all the best!
February 10, 2012 @ 1:27 pm
When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, I did not know what is was and looked it up. As soon as I saw the “life expectancy”, I stopped reading and have not gone back. It was way less than I found acceptable. I understand what I have, that it is treatable, and that I intend to live a whole lot longer than what any website says. And, if I want to read more, I know where to find it. I guess this categorizes me as “ignorance is bliss”. I can live with it – while respecting that others need more info.
Thank you for being here!
February 10, 2012 @ 7:30 am
I’m retired, but I used to work as a medical technician. My last job was working for an oncologist. I didn’t have to ask any questions because I knew the final outcome. I knew that in cancer world when you hear the words esophageal or pancreatic, you’re in big trouble. So, I knew from day one where we were headed after hearing the diagnosis of esophageal cancer which had invaded some of the lymph nodes. Looking back now, I wish I had not known so much……….I think I would have had more hope for my husband to beat the cancer. I was mentally planning my husband’s funeral for the three years that he survived. Unlike Al, and with all due respect, I think sometimes Ignorance is Bliss………………..Lifting
February 21, 2012 @ 9:11 pm
dsieentd2sleep on February 9, 2011 @twburr this is what you say you are marrying a great guy, you are very lucky, he is a great in bed, I should know, we have been sleeping together off and on for years
February 9, 2012 @ 9:45 pm
Man..tough question and one I wrangled with for over 5 years. The first thing I would do when there was a new situation was go to the internet and search until I couldn’t see or until I couldn’t bear all the grim news anymore. I don’t know if having all this information at our fingertips gives some of us false hope that each new link will lead us to better news or if it just confirms what a lot of people already know. I wanted to be able to access information when I had a question and it was 3am but sometimes I just wish I had been in the dark a little. Information overload is such a double edge sword. There are some well hidden little miracles out there and cancer patients need to find them and at the very least need to be able to have hope by finding some positive news once in a while. I loved the internet and I cursed it equally I think. Like Al, I am satisfied that I gathered all the information I could and knew the questions to ask. I no longer blame myself as much as I used to for not finding a way to get rid of Jim’s cancer. It was a battle that we were told from day one that barring a miracle, he would not win. That didn’t mean we couldn’t have hope but it was just another piece of information to help u with the fight.
February 21, 2012 @ 10:11 pm
What a biuutefal, honest and breathtaking piece. I appreciate your sharing this with the world. It gives me strength to hear your voice and see these amazing images as I live with family, friends and, yes, even beloved pets battling cancer. Thank you.
February 9, 2012 @ 7:21 pm
For me, I want to know as much as I can. I want to ask the questions. I want to say “what about this or that ” I already know the worst outcome possible but I want to know what my choices are and possible outcomes and what ifs. It is true that lots of knowledge can cause anxiety and stress but I suppose that I’d have them even if I didn’t know…ignorance is not bliss in my world. I also believe that by participating in the choices and decisions made for one’s care gives a sense of empowerment and control however fleeting that maybe or how unrealistic it may be.
We need any and all lifelines in this fight so I choose knowledge. When my time comes and all avenues have been explored and exhausted, I hope that there will be peace. I’ll know that I and my doctors did our best but it wasn’t good enough. I’m OK wth this.
February 21, 2012 @ 2:05 pm
It is the left hand of the Christus Consolator staute that is below the dome at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. I walked past this staute nearly every day back when I took the subway to work.