A friend of my sister suggested her to see another doctor. Her own (now previous) doctor was also suggested by one of her doctor friends and is known to be very good in his area of expertise. However, he was a bit distant and did not provide much needed details for her that made her anxious. He was cool about the problem but was not very reassuring. Plus, everything we read on the Internet was pretty bad and we almost believed she would not be able to reach 60 (she is 41 now).
Her husband told me that on several occasions he caught her crying thinking her days were numbered. This has broken my heart too.
So, when a friend of her with the same diagnosis suggested her the other doctor, she decided to give him a shot. The new doctor spent close to 40 minutes with her examining her from head to toe, looking at her lab and biopsy results and most importantly talking to her and her husband. He said that second stage meant nothing, that he still has a patient living quiet normally since 1992 when he was diagnosed at the 4th stage. He told her to become more active and maintain a healthy diet. She has been already losing weight due to eating healthy and he told her not to overdo it and feel deprived. He also told her that her high blood pressure is more of a problem than her condition. My sister laughed at that because all women on my mom's side has high blood pressure and we accept is as the family norm and a part of our lives.
My sister told me that her husband felt like getting up to hug and kiss the doctor because he was sooo upset and stressed about the possibility of losing her untimely. I think I can fly over and hug and kiss him too.
My sister will see him in two months with her lab results so that he can assess the dosage of the medicine and adjust it if necessary. She sounded wonderfully happy on the phone. She absolutely loved this new doctor. What a relief! He gave us hope and brightened our outlook of the future.
The personality of the doctor is so important for the patient to feel at ease. I am sure the other guy is excellent but he dis not speak much and was very brief in his dealings with her.
So glad to hear your sister is feeling so good about this doctor! It's hard enough to maintain a positive frame of mind when you're facing serious health issues, never mind if your doctor doesn't seem interested. Hopefully this new doctor will help all of you stay focused on the problem and get it sorted xx
ReplyDeleteThank you NLA. I think morale and trust are most important.
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