Since my misdiagnosis, I’ve told the story many times. Often I am asked, "How did you know you didn’t really have cancer?"

I just did.

That little voice inside me represented a disconnect between what I "knew," and what I was being told ("you have a rare, aggressive lymphoma, and you will die within six months without chemo").

We all have that inner voice – intuition, instinct – call it what you will. Frequently I hear from other patients about their frustrating attempts to key in on a true diagnosis, their attempts often triggered by their inner voices.

When your intuition begins to nag at you, the key is to recognize it, acknowledge it, then act on it.

Even without blatant symptoms, you may have a "feeling" there is something wrong with your body. The temptation may be to ignore the feeling because it’s not obvious enough, or because you are in denial.

Begin by learning to recognize, then acknowledging your inner voice. It may come in the form of a fear, or you’ll feel yourself trying to push it away. Instead try listening to it. Then visit your doctor and work toward a diagnosis. You’ll have peace of mind knowing you are acting on it. And you may just learn there is nothing wrong at all.

Perhaps your doctor has provided a diagnosis and suggested treatment, and you just "know" something isn’t right.

You may find it difficult to distinguish intuition from wishful thinking. It’s easy to wish a frightening diagnosis is incorrect. But at this stage, don’t worry about the distinction, because there are steps you can take to clarify your thoughts.

If you’ve already been given a diagnosis and you think it’s incorrect, then share your suspicions with loved ones, your advocate, and your doctor. Ask them to help you learn more about whatever your health challenge is with the goal of proving – or disproving – your diagnosis.

Then begin your research. Review similar conditions or diseases that may mimic your diagnosis. Seek a second opinion from a specialist. Find others who have similar diagnoses and interview them to see what parallels may, or may not, exist. This will help you find clues about the accuracy of your diagnosis. Share your findings with your doctor and decide together what steps to take next.

When your inner voice speaks to you, don’t be afraid to speak up! Had I not acknowledged mine, I would have suffered through chemotherapy.

And I would not be here advocating for you.
 

©  2006 Trisha Torrey

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