Can Challengers Be A Threat?

I’ve come to realize that we indeed have a mix of various personalities and that falls into the pot of the patient as well as the medical team. We learn to get along and do what is needed to make this current travesty of news as doable as it can be. I speak for my mother who is no longer here, so I pull from her experience shared, and what I’ve also witnessed for her and my own health.

Can a patient that challenges a doctor be a threat or more so a nuisance? Let’s delve in...

An influx of queries

I don’t get this old-school thought that you should never question your doctor about your care. I was brought up with if you have a question in school ask your teachers to explain or re-explain - period! I’ve met some people who have walked the walk of silence because they didn’t want to come off as a know-it-all like the doctors are the ones that picked up your lung cancer. Who are you to think otherwise when you look at the direction they’ve expressed for beating your cancer?

All I can say is what would we be as a people if we didn’t ask questions. In no way does a question mean you’re now trying to be a doctor. What it does mean is that you want to live and the questions on your mind are your tactics to use to beat and live as long as you can with lung cancer. A doctor, nurse, or anyone on the outskirts who are supposed to help you be in control of your diagnosis, and may have a problem with questions silly or not in how and what you need to contemplate moving forward, well you may need to relook at your options. If you don’t have options then maybe it’s time to make that trusty list of pros and cons to a situation and move forward from there.

Don’t sass me but respect me

The only reason I can think that you may react to a doctor or the team with attitude, well is if you have been shown the same. I won’t say two wrongs don’t make a right, but I tell you it’s something about what you feel in your gut when discussing if this person or individuals have your back totally. If you are a lung cancer patient over the age of 18, well you’re officially an adult, and adults do adult things when they are discussing real-life matters like cancer.

I’ll admit there are other ways to react if a doctor is showing poor bedside manners rather than provoking additional drama, like report them, and or ask to see a clinic social worker to help rectify this unfortunate situation, or find new care.

Trust goes a long way

My take for any patient with lung cancer or not...you should not be ostracized for asking a question or leaning into a full understanding of what is about to happen and how serious is your prognosis. I would think questions for a doctor mean you do take your care and treatment seriously; however, that is not always the case for both parties.

As I mentioned in the beginning there is definitely a mix of personalities, but both parties have to reach beyond that or look into other alternatives to make this situation less stressful. Quite frankly if there’s no trust this won’t work too well, and this was the case for my mom.

Again, each person has their own approach, but I wanted to get the conversation going about what exactly are some doctor’s feelings and fear when they are challenged about the care of their patients, and do some patients see themselves as the challenger?

What are your thoughts? Share in the comments!

The time to fight is now, with integrity, grace, hope, and a smile...when you feel like it.