Physician Attitude
Seek out someone who is going to be very frank and honest with you. This is
not a time to have a sugared version of your situation. You need the facts, and
you want them presented to you candidly. This can be emotionally difficult for
some physicians so you never really end up with the whole unvarnished truth.
Seek out a physician who is willing to spend time with you and answer all your
questions. No physician knows all—they should be willing to discuss the
uncertainties in treatment and results. Beware of the omniscient doctor. That
person may not be able to recognize his or her shortcomings or see alternatives
in treatment that may not be the usual local treatment policy.
Seek a physician who wants to help educate you about this disease and your
treatment options and not someone who wants to make the decisions for you.
Remember you need to be part of your own treatment team. That is important. It
can be tempting to just have the doctor tell you what to do but that really
isn't in your best interest. There are critical choices that you must make which
need to be your decision alone. An example is whether to have mastectomy or
breast conservation surgery (lumpectomy with lymph node removal). Depending on
your clinical condition and the size of the tumor along with some other factors,
it may very well be that from a survival perspective, you will be given the
choice of having one type of surgery or the other, both having equal outcomes
regarding your survival rate. This is a decision that should be left for you to
decide based on many factors, including your emotional well being and the
feelings you have about your self image. You, not the doctor, will face the
consequences of these decisions for the rest of your life. Make sure these
decisions and treatments have your seal of approval.
