There have been lots of technological developments in recent years that have revolutionized cancer treatment. One of the most revolutionary of all, though, is a change whose impact is indirect, even as it is massive.You’re participating in it right now, as you read these words. It’s the Internet.
A September 29th article in the New York Times highlights the many different ways patients deal with this vast ocean of medical information at their fingertips:
“Information gives some people a sense of control. For others, it’s overwhelming. An acquaintance of this reporter, a New York father coping with his infant son’s heart problem, knew he would be paralyzed with indecision if his research led to too many choices. So he focused on finding the area’s best pediatric cardiologist and left the decisions to the experts.
Others, like Amy Haberland, 50, a breast cancer patient in Arlington, Mass., pore through medical journals, looking not just for answers but also for better questions to ask their doctors.
‘Knowledge is power,’ Ms. Haberland said. ‘I think knowing the reality of the risks of my cancer makes me more comfortable undergoing my treatment.’” (Tara Parker-Pope, “You’re Sick. Now What? Knowledge Is Power,” New York Times, September 29, 2008)
My personality type is obviously closer to the second of these two patients than to the first. One of the first things I did, even before my diagnosis was definite, was to high-tail it to library. What I couldn’t find on the library shelves, I began searching for – voraciously – on the internet. Before long, I had a basic knowledge of lymphoma and the underlying biological systems that are affected by it. My doctors know vastly more than I, of course – I never pretend otherwise – but at least we’re able to converse together with some degree of mutual understanding.
Not everyone’s like this. I know some fellow patients who put themselves, wholly and completely into their doctor’s hands, saying, “Please don’t overwhelm me with details, Doc. I trust you, and I trust you to tell me what I need to know about my condition.”There’s no right or wrong here. It’s a matter of style.
Vive la difference.
