I was prompted by my good friend Sue to write,
after she posted this article on Facebook.
Have a read and if you ever have to make that
choice, make it a good one…
If
you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, then which treatment do you opt for,
which hospital do you go to, and crucially, which surgeon do you allow to
perform this delicate operation?
So your hospital has a state of the art Da Vinci
Robot…So what? That's like saying, "He's an excellent driver, he owns a
Ferrari!" How many times have the team (because it is a team) used this machine?
What is their reputation like? Have you asked on the Prostate Cancer Forums
what men being treated at the hospital feel about their experience?
My
surgeon, Nimish Shah and his team had been to the USA to observe surgical teams
there. They then bought their first Da Vinci Robot at Addenbrookes, but
specialists from the USA came over to train them and stayed with them to
observe their surgical techniques. Nimish Shah had completed hundreds of
successful operations before he started on me. I see men all the time on the
forums that trusted to surgeons in local hospitals, not even prostate
specialists, and they are still suffering incontinence.
From the time you are diagnosed until the time
you have treatment there is usually plenty of time to decide. If you are
diagnosed with prostate cancer, don't get swept up in the moment, just because
the doctor doing your biopsy immediately refers you to the local hospital. Say,
"Hang on, I have options here, I can choose my treatment, my hospital and
my specialist. I'll get back to you."
No comments:
Post a Comment