Doctors enjoy chatting about diseases but not
their own. We’re as frightened as you, and we want a doctor who sympathizes and
makes it go away.
Some doctors don’t understand this. They
assume that, being in the business, we don’t require any touchy-feely stuff and
that it’s OK to talk shop.
Twenty years ago my dermatologist biopsied a bump
near my ear. When he revealed it showed a basal cell carcinoma, he had me look
through the office microscope at the biopsy slide, and I saw my cancer cells.
Ik!....
Five years ago, my internist heard a heart murmur
and sent me to a cardiologist. After determining that I had a damaged mitral
valve, he led me into an adjacent room to show the ultrasound. Since I was a
doctor, he took for granted that I wanted to know the technical details, but I
absolutely did not want to see a film of my poor, diseased heart in action. As
he happily pointed out the leaky valve I tried not to look.
We returned to his office where he extolled the
skills of a cardiac surgeon at the nearby university hospital who had great
success repairing heart valves. While it wasn’t urgent, he was certain I’d
enjoy talking to him.
I found another cardiologist whom I like much
better. I might need surgery in the future, he explained. He’ll let me know. I
see him for an ultrasound every six months. Otherwise I try not to think about
it.
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