the Doctor is Wrong... Dead Wrong..

I absolutely think it would be a GOOD thing for you to notify the hospital that this doctor is misinforming patients about something as critical as the risk for bc. Who knows what else he might be saying? 

Maybe you could get in touch with the ACS and ask them for some information and pamphlets that could be shared with the doctor in question and also placed in an area for patients to be educated.

It is surely not your goal to "lynch" this guy, but it IS a golden opportunity to help share your knowledge. You never know who you might be able to touch if you are able to get some ACS information (and breastcancer.org has info too!) to someone. Turn that anger into something POSITIVE!!

((((HUGS))))
Diane

I think you should absolutely make the call, but the goal should be to make sure this Doc learns the facts, rather then get reprimanded (sp).

I am surprised you were able to keep hush during your daughters appt.

So many daughters need to know that they are at risk 10 years prior to the age at which their mom was dx.

It's not to say that every daughter will get breast cancer, but this doctor must have slept through that part of med school.

I hope you call, or better yet, write the doctor directly.  I would write a letter, and send him some educational material, so that he does not make the same mistake twice.

I encountered similar ignorance when I made a visit to the ER for a minor dog bite.

When the doctor came in to administer the Tetanus shot, I told him "no shots on the BC side".  His reply?  "It's a MYTH that shots will lead to LE!"

I responded with, "tell that to the thousands of women who suffer from LE!".

My experience with ER doctors has been sub-par, to say the least.  It has taught me to only go to the ER if I have a severe trauma or dire situation.  Anything else, I want my physician to admit me under his/her care.

I certainly agree that you have very good cause to complain about that MD's inappropriate and ignorant comment. What a scumbag. With your family history, your daughter needs to be especially vigilant.

Not meaning to be intrusive, but I notice you are trip. neg. in addition to that history. Have you had genetic testing for BRCA? The early diagnosis in both you and your sister and the heavy prevalence on your father's side is highly suspect, IMHO. My BRCA-1 came down my father's side.

Lisa

I encourage you to say something.  I should take my own advice, really.  Four years ago this month a surgeon told me I had 'aging  breast tissue' where an entire quadrant of my breast was hardening and my nipple was starting to invert.  Little did I know at that time there was more than one kind of breast cancer.  Guess that doctor didn't know either.  By the time I was dx'd with lobular and spent just five minutes reading up on it, I was floored that I had not been dx'd nine months sooner. 

Initially, I was very angry with that doctor for his ineptitude.  Luckily, I had a slow growing tumor and miraculously was only a stage 2 with nothing spread into my nodes.  And I waver back and forth on how I feel about this.  There is SO much information doctors are expected to know, so part of me wants to cut them some slack.  On the other hand, it's their JOB to know enough to diagnose diseases, and truly, there's no excuse that this bozo didn't seem to have even a 5-minute exposure to the fact that bc comes in other forms than ductile.  Part of me wants to send a nasty letter to him with a cc to his facility's administrator.  Another part of me knows that if I rant and rave and act ugly, it's really more of a bad reflection on me than anything, so I talk myself out of it.  Then I think, well, this bozo really needs some more education about bc, and I contemplate a kinder gentler letter.  Then I feel tired and four years later no letter has been written.  

The letter issue gets on my radar every now and then.  I wonder if I'd just write the stupid thing, maybe I'd could finally let it go.  Perhaps you could write a letter to your bozo and then let me know if you feel better afterwards.   Where do these people come up with this bogus information?  My mom and her mom also had bc.  So much for it skipping generations.  Don't I wish. 

OMG, I'm sorry that this guy spoke out of turn and was inaccurate but this is crazy. This is lynching. How about dealing with this doctor as the human being that he is? Do you really think that going to his supervisor and everyone else involved in this poor man's professional life is the right way to deal with this? How about speaking to the person himself? Or, if you're too angry to do that, how about writing him a letter with some references to good medical journals (your Dr. Levine ought to be able to send you a couple of quick links)?

Doctors are not gods. Haven't we figured that out yet? There is no reason that he should know everything and this seems to be an "urban legend" as a later poster noted that others believe it too. Should he have been even addressing it with you when you were there to treat dehydration? No. Does he need "an education in breast cancer" (as you accurately put it)? Yes. You are in a position to do that in a humane manner.

Is this how you want to teach your daughter to deal with problems with other people? Run to their supervisor? Do her best to humiliate them in front of their peers?

How would you like someone to treat you in that type of situation? 

Please think about this before you pick up the phone tomorrow morning.  

I agree. Put it in writing! And send to the CEO of the institution. It needs to go to this doc's supervisor and on up the chain. I would even cc the doc to get a copy. He needs a wake up call.



Nothing worse than a medical professional telling us the wrong info.



I went for a TB test the other day at the local hospital (where I intend to volunteer). Nurse asked, "first test?" I said yes, and she said "left arm, please." I noticed she was alternating left/right arm with different people. I asked if there was any significance of left or right. She said, "you need two tests, so we always use the left arm for the first and right arm for the second." I told her I had LE in my right arm and would appreciate her using my left arm for both tests. She said, "Oh if you insist. But it's really nothing more putting a small bubble of fluid under the top of the skin. You shouldn't have any trouble at all with that." NOT!!



I told her I would be back again to use the left arm for the second test, and departed.



Was going to let it go, and thought about it, deciding that I needed to say something to someone.



Given that our local hosp has one of the best LE clinics in the state of California, I emailed the LE therapist and told her my story. I decided I didn't want to expect her to solve the problem, and decided to help her solve the problem. I offered to speak at a nurses' training meeting about my experience with LE, in the hopes that we can begin to educated more of the medical profession than we have been able to do to date.



This after running a contribution campaign for our Lymphedema Patient Fund where literature went out to every employee. guess some don't read as well as others.



You go, girl!!!

grace

malfeasance

malpractice

negligence

liability

This is not a case of someone putting on the wrong windshield wipers, or forgetting to replace a radiator hose.  It especially isn't a case of a "poor man" who "spoke out of turn."

This was a physician--a medical professional--giving medical advice to his patient.  And that advice was wrong...dead wrong.

No, doctors are not gods (though some of them act like they are); and doctors do not know everything (though some of them act like they do).  It isn't a coincidence that doctors who act as if they do know everything are often called upon to defend themselves in courtrooms.  I HATE lawyers, but at least when they screw up, it usually doesn't cost someone her life.

I worked in a health professions career for 25+ years.  I always knew that if I messed up--if I gave a client dead-wrong advice, or told him/her something that resulted in a risk to his/her health--the very least that would happen would be a closed-door talk with my department head or dean.  So, yes, I fully expected irate or dissatisfied clients to report their concerns to my supervisor(s).  That's how the system works.

We are not in kindergarten anymore.  People--including doctors--are responsible for their actions and their words.

otter

I have had my own medical doctors tell me that they do not have time to look thru or read my file when i come for an appt.   I have had other doctors say to me when i brought them in a medical article to read (pertinent to my situation), that they do not read med. journals or articles because they do not have time.  Maybe these are the doctors who are giving out misinformation.  I think they are accountable, as much as possible, for the medical advice that they give out to people, and if they do not keep current with medical research, they are probably not well-informed.  In this case i think that doctor gave out some dangerous advice to that 16 year old daughter.  It is not our jobs to gently educate these highly paid doctors or medical professionals. They are often very egotistical, arrogant, and unwilling to accept that they could be wrong, especially from a mere patient.  I think it should be dealt with on a higher level.

I applaud the actions that Methusala took.

WOW, that is what my mom's doctor said to her, he said her type of  breast cancer was not hereditary, WRONG!!! She was dx at 58 yrs old with IDC, lost her 12 yrs ago.  Boy do I miss her.  I'm 56.

  

  

While I totally agree with your approach Methusala - if I had been sitting there when the doctor spoke - I would have started arguing with him right then and there - and THEN I would have told him, right then and there, to let me speak to another doctor to set him straight!  I have serious doubts that anyone is going to re-educate this doctor.....and I agree that you'll have to follow-up - not just with a phone call, but something in writing - copying all the big-wigs at that hospital!