I don't know why the doctors continue to paint such rosy pictures for normalcy after prostate cancer. Each of the docs I went to said "The other therapies leave significant side effects, but not mine."
Then they would offer reassuring words, give me a handout with statistics to back up what they had said, and out the door I went.
Here is the sobering truth.
“I had surgery by a doctor who said 98 percent of my patients are perfectly fine,” said Mr. Nelson, now 51. “Of course, I wasn’t perfectly fine.”
The Side Effects? Well, There Is One...
Realistic expectations MUST be communicated. Otherwise you set men up for a double-whammy.
But I have a feeling that it once again comes down to money. Physicians don't follow the #1 rule of a great business - under promise and over deliver.
But then again, we don't have a lot of choice, do we?
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Guess I didn't know . . .
You ever notice that sometimes you don't know how sick you are until you start to feel better?
That's what happened to me this weekend.
Finally the fatigue and nausea lifted. I've actually spent the last 5 days or so with little to no nausea. That's a big difference.
And a welcome one.
But it does make me look back over the last few weeks since the procedure, and realize that I have been very, very sick.
I think one of the main things that has bothered me about this whole process is that every piece of literature I've read - regardless of the method of treatment - lists the possible side effects but ends with 'but you'll be fine'. So, we expect to feel bad for a couple of weeks and then get on with our lives close to normal.
A few weeks ago a study came out showing that men that have had prostate surgery are deeply regretful about 2 years after the fact. The medical community kind of tossed it's hands in the air and said that the patients were 'overly optimistic' regarding their recovery and the life-ling impacts of the surgery. They couldn't understand why the men aren't getting the message.
Life After Prostate Surgery Worse Than Men Expect
Well, that's because side effects are downplayed. In the literature AND in the physicians office.
Over-promised and under-delivered. That's a recipe for dissatisfaction.
I'm still glad I had the radiation. I think.
I guess we will have to see where the next couple of years takes me.
That's what happened to me this weekend.
Finally the fatigue and nausea lifted. I've actually spent the last 5 days or so with little to no nausea. That's a big difference.
And a welcome one.
But it does make me look back over the last few weeks since the procedure, and realize that I have been very, very sick.
I think one of the main things that has bothered me about this whole process is that every piece of literature I've read - regardless of the method of treatment - lists the possible side effects but ends with 'but you'll be fine'. So, we expect to feel bad for a couple of weeks and then get on with our lives close to normal.
A few weeks ago a study came out showing that men that have had prostate surgery are deeply regretful about 2 years after the fact. The medical community kind of tossed it's hands in the air and said that the patients were 'overly optimistic' regarding their recovery and the life-ling impacts of the surgery. They couldn't understand why the men aren't getting the message.
Life After Prostate Surgery Worse Than Men Expect
Well, that's because side effects are downplayed. In the literature AND in the physicians office.
Over-promised and under-delivered. That's a recipe for dissatisfaction.
I'm still glad I had the radiation. I think.
I guess we will have to see where the next couple of years takes me.
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