Just a Few Months to Live Suppose your doctor told you, “Your disease is so aggressive, you have only a few months to live.” What would you do? Travel? Spend your life savings?
That’s what my doctor told me. In Summer 2004, after being diagnosed with a rare lymphoma, I was informed that I’d be dead before the new year if I didn’t begin chemotherapy immediately. But my intuition suggested otherwise.
So -- no travel or spending sprees for me. Instead I did a lot of research, questioned everything, broke a few rules, sought second and third opinions, and ultimately proved the diagnosis was wrong. In fact, I did not have cancer, and never needed any treatment. It was a horrible, frightening, expensive experience.
In the midst of my research, I found some sobering statistics. According to the U.S. government, between 44,000 and 100,000 Americans die annually from a misdiagnosis or medical error. I shudder when I realize how close I came to being one of them.
Clearly, if it could happen to me, it could – and does – happen to anyone. As I tapped in to my spiritual side, the “why me?” turned into “why not me?” I decided to become proactive. Revenge, in the form of empowering other patients and their advocates, could be sweet.
Thing is – I’m probably just like you. I have no medical training. I can’t stand the sight of blood. I barely passed high school biology. But I am a marketing consultant, educator and writer. I realize the tools, attitudes and resources that helped me disprove my impending demise may help you uncover important information about your own diagnosis and treatment options.
So I began by building a website: www.diagKNOWsis.org Soon I’ll start teaching patient empowerment workshops. I’m the moderator for an online health research forum. I’m writing a book. The goal of each activity is to help patients partner more effectively with their doctors to make better, more successful medical decisions.
Now I’ve been invited to write this column for you. It will focus on empowering you as you struggle with your own healthcare challenges. It will offer advice from a patient’s – not a doctor’s – point of view. It will teach you to be an effective healthcare consumer.
What should you do if your doctor won’t listen? Interrupt. How do you find the right doctor for a second opinion? Ask another patient. Where can you find credible health information on the internet? Stay tuned…. © 2006 Trisha Torrey Return to Main List of Columns
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