What doctors don't know about cancer

September 23, 2008

This is a story about when doctors try to use all their magic on cancer and

other diseases and written by

Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld.

No doctor knows for sure what cures today's research will bring tomorrow.

Recently, I diagnosed life-threatening leukemia in one of my elderly patients.

Stanley insisted on knowing the diagnosis and then read up on it himself on the

Internet. He returned to my office certain of his imminent death. I reassured

him that research goes on daily and new treatments are continually found. A few

weeks later, the drug Gleevec was discovered. It cured Stanley's leukemia.

Some of my colleagues think that giving hope to someone with a terminal

illness is wrong and misleading. They insist on telling " the truth. " But who is

privy to the absolute truth? Nature sometimes fools us, and doctors make

mistakes, which is why many hopeless cases miraculously survive.

Many years ago, for example, I felt a very hard lump in the neck of a young

woman I was examining in a routine checkup. The biopsy revealed it to be a

highly malignant cancer. Its cells were so " wild " that its origin could not be

determined. A complete workup failed to reveal the cancer's source. Several

consultants agreed that the woman's only chance for survival was the extensive

removal of glands and tissues in the area. And even that would not assure her

survival. When she learned that the procedure would grossly disfigure her, my

patient decided not to have it. Instead, she'd take her chances and live to the

fullest for whatever time she had left. I respected her decision and reassured

her that the course of cancer was often unpredictable.

We gave her no treatment and decided to wait until the malignancy showed up

in some other part of her body. It never did! Nor did we ever find the primary

site. And guess what? She went on to give birth to a beautiful, healthy girl.

Today she remains alive and well in her 60s!Doctors must continue to provide

hope to the sick and embrace compassion and human contact. Our quality of life

will be immeasurably improved if, along with the amazing technology at our

disposal, we recover the magic of the human touch.

For the rest of the article:

Blessings,

Lottie

Recommended Posts