After a cancer diagnosis, it's common for a person to be presented with many choices regarding health care. As each choice is presented, the person with cancer must make decisions based on the information received. Not all choices are beneficial and should be weighed carefully. Each person has a right to do cancer the way he or she sees fit.
BY Bonnie Annis
PUBLISHED July 25, 2019
Bonnie Annis is a breast cancer survivor, diagnosed in 2014 with stage 2b invasive ductal carcinoma with metastasis to the lymph nodes. She is an avid photographer, freelance writer/blogger, wife, mother and grandmother.
Imagine, if you will, a room full of women diagnosed with breast cancer and currently either undergoing active treatment or having just completed treatment. The women are sitting in folding metal chairs arranged in a circle, group therapy style. A facilitator presents a question: “If you had a chance to do it all over again, would you repeat your cancer treatment regimen?” The room would instantly be abuzz with discussion. Some women would realize similarities in their circumstances and others would find vast differences. But the majority of those in the room would probably feel confused and wonder if they’d been given a right to choose or if they’d merely followed doctors’ orders regarding their cancer care.
When a person receives a diagnosis of breast cancer, an oncologist devises an individualized treatment plan based on many factors. Many doctors offer a conventional plan – surgery, chemo, radiation and hormonal replacement. Very few offer alternatives. The goal is to provide the patient with the best possible outcome. Both doctor and patient hope for survival.
But do patients realize the choice to follow or disregard the plan is in their hands? Some will blindly follow the suggested plan, trusting the medical expertise of the doctor consulted. Others will be bold enough to question or even make suggestions for possible changes to the plan. And very few will choose to forego the plan.
When a person receives a diagnosis of breast cancer, an oncologist devises an individualized treatment plan based on many factors. Many doctors offer a conventional plan – surgery, chemo, radiation and hormonal replacement. Very few offer alternatives. The goal is to provide the patient with the best possible outcome. Both doctor and patient hope for survival.
But do patients realize the choice to follow or disregard the plan is in their hands? Some will blindly follow the suggested plan, trusting the medical expertise of the doctor consulted. Others will be bold enough to question or even make suggestions for possible changes to the plan. And very few will choose to forego the plan.
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