Here are articles from our Prepared Patient feature series about making good treatment decisions. These articles are based on interviews with experts and people around the country about some of their experiences getting second opinions, asking about the risks associated with treatment, developing a plan and deciding that their plan works for them.

In the right column, Prepared Patient 411 offers online, phone and community resources to assist you. And in Related Research, we share the most current scientific research in brief news stories.

We invite you to share your own experiences making treatment decisions. You can post a reply to any of our featured articles, blogs and news stories.

In the Waiting Room: the Basics of Watchful Waiting In 1999, Syd Ball, a nuclear engineer from Oak Ridge, Tenn., was preparing for a work trip to Russia when his local urologist notified him he showed signs of early prostate cancer. According to the urologist who did his initial testing, his only options were prostate removal surgery or radiation therapy. But when Ball sought a second opinion, the urologist told him he was an excellent candidate for active surveillance — also known as watchful waiting. "The idea that I'd be constantly monitored — I figured, well, if it does start growing, the survival rates for doing surgery before it spreads are very favorable," Ball said. For some patients, delaying treatment while regularly monitoring the progress of disease may benefit them more than a rush to pharmaceutical or surgical options. READ MORE
Seeking a Second ...or Third ...Opinion The first hematologist Chip Wells visited after his leukemia diagnosis had an office right around the corner from Wells' internist. But he couldn't have been farther apart from Wells when it came to taking the disease seriously. "He called it an 'easygoing disease,'" Wells recalled. "He said I didn't need to worry, that I was more likely to be hit by a bus than to have this disease bring me down." Wells — and his wife — were appalled by the hematologist's casual manner. So Wells asked him if he could recommend a second hematologist to get another perspective on the diagnosis. Wells recalls: "I not only wanted to be sure, but I was sure that I didn't want him." READ MORE
Sorting Out Medical Opinion Overload Kafi Grigsby and her family prepared to take her 86-year-old grandmother home after a pleasant visit. On their way out the door, her grandmother felt dizzy, so her husband helped her to the car. As they talked during the drive, Grigsby said, "Grandmommy, do you realize you're slurring?" "Maybe I'm having a stroke," her grandmother answered. "The hospital experience was a nightmare," Grigsby said. After hours of waiting in her room with no information, "we were confronted with a slew of specialists: (1) the ER physician on call, (2) a neurologist, (3) a vascular surgeon, (4) a hematologist and (5) her primary care physician." READ MORE
Sick at Work Rick Daniel, 49, is an application engineer with Rohde & Schwarz, Inc., which develops and manufactures electronic instrumentation. In December 2005, he was working at the company's Dallas branch office. He was at home on the weekend when an aneurysm — hidden in his brain — ruptured. Daniel was airlifted to Baylor Medical Center and spent two weeks in the ICU after the massive hemorrhage. Meanwhile, his workplace was responding. READ MORE

 

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