Do we put too much faith in our doctors?
It was a topic that came up in a group of cancer patients and for the most part, this group thought the patients should take more responsibility for how they feel and how their individual cases were treated.
If the chemo is too rough and the side effects are causing too many problems, most patients tend not to complain. They don’t tell their doctors or nurses in a timely matter. They just suffer, thinking this is the way it’s supposed to be; It’s NOT. This group spoke up and said “Tell your nurse, tell you doctor, changes can be made.” They’re right…keep a journal with detailed notes about how you feel day to day. Did you have an upset stomach? Was there a fever during the day or night? Did a rash develop, or loss of appetite? Be your own strong advocate.
Doctors and nurses can only treat what they know and if they don’t know how you’re feeling, they can’t make the changes necessary to make you feel better.
Some in this group actually kept spread sheets on their treatments. They felt a need to share in the course of their care. That is a new approach in doctor-patient relationships. It pushes the individualized treatment of cancer care to a different level.
We still lean on our doctors, heavily, we have to put our faith in the medicine. Thinking good thoughts just isn’t enough, not with cancer.
But, there’s no harm in sharing the load.
August 8, 2013 @ 2:29 pm
Although you are talking about putting the load on the medical team, friends and family also want a hand in carrying the load. Sites like caringbridge keep friends and family in the know and lets people know how they can help out. My friends, who have the year old son with stage 4 neuroblastoma have a donation site (set up by a friend) where people can donate money to help with dr/hospital bills. They also have a meal/grocery site (also done by a friend). People can log in to set up a day/time to drop off dinner- or do a gift card at a local restaurant for delivery if they aren’t in the area.
And an update on my friend’s little boy- he is having his stem cells harvested this week. It’s a 2 day process- 10 hours of being hooked up to tubes. Completing the harvest will be step one in the long road ahead.
August 7, 2013 @ 8:44 pm
You have to have faith and you have to trust but you also have to speak up. You have to make yourself heard and then you have to make sure they listened.
August 7, 2013 @ 12:45 pm
Absolutely, sharing that information isn’t complaining – it’s helping our doctors to become more aware of the situation, and what strategies may be best for our overall health.
August 6, 2013 @ 8:16 pm
What a great topic. Finding the balance between taking charge of your illness and letting the physicians and medical personnel do their jobs can be tricky. It works best as a team effort and every person has to be able to communicate fully to avoid as much misunderstanding as possible. I also think that that medical information on the internet should not be a substitute for real dialogue.