March 22, 2007What Else Could it Be?
Dr. Jerome Groopman teaches people to communicate with their doctors in the book, How Doctors Think. If the diagnosis doesn’t seem to fit or symptoms persist, he recommends patients ask,
What else could it be?
And,
- Could it be two things – (their diagnosis) and something else? (If you watch House on TV, you know how often that happens.;-))
He also suggests if you think the doctor doesn’t like you, say:
- I feel like we’re not connecting well.
That can either get you connecting or get you a referral to someone you can connect with.
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Ooohh, if only I had had this book 10 years ago! I was lying on the exam table wearing only a paper dress and a nervous smile when my doctor was listing all the “things” the tests indicated I didn’t have. So my husbands asked, “Well, what IS it?” The doctor said, “It looks like we’re looking at a cancer situation here.” Just then his pager went off and he excused himself to go deliver a baby. The doctor practically ran from the room.
My husband and I just froze, unable to speak or move for several minutes. Then the nurse came in and started straightening the room for the “next victim.” i was still lying on the table, looking around the room, wondering where the cancer situation was. I was pretty sure the doctor would have told me if “the cancer situation” was inside me, right? So I got up, got dressed and was heading out the door when the receptionist called me back to give me the referral for “my” oncologist. So, I had my own oncologist.
Later, in the car on the way home, I turned to my husband and asked him, “Did the Doctor say I have cancer?” My husband just shrugged his shoulders and said he didn’t know. I had my own oncologist, but did that mean I had cancer?
I was terribly confused. I attacked the bookstore and bought two great books: “Take This Book to the Hospital with You” and “Take his Book to the Gynecologist With You.”
When I saw the oncologist the next day, I was ready with my list of 40 questions. He was impressed with my assertiveness and my need to know exactly what I was facing and what needed to be done. Then he told me that we had to agree that I didn’t have cancer until we had conclusive test results. Presto-chango! I no longer had cancer. I was able to think more clearly, ask clarifying questions, and insist on getting answers I understood. Since this incident, I am relentless with doctors. I believe this book, How Doctors Think, will come in handy!
Just to end the story, I had the surgery the oncologist recommended and it turns out everything was benign. This was 10 years ago and I am healthy, but I will never look at the doctor-patient relationship in the same light.
Comment by Cindy Mueller — March 28, 2007 @ 9:58 am
FABULOUS story, Cindy. What a great demonstration of how to take responsibility for your own health.
Comment by merylrunion — March 29, 2007 @ 11:30 am
I’ll be adding all these books to my library soon. Thanks for the info. I have reached an age when I can no longer shrug off symptoms and count on my youth and natural good health to fix me. I’m sure I’ll be needing the kind of advice these books can give me.
Comment by Kathleen — April 14, 2007 @ 10:51 am