Saying it like it is or dashing a patient's hopes? Cancer patient told to prepare for death

[webfact 60,813]

Saying it like it is or dashing a patient's hopes? Cancer patient told to prepare for death

 

Picture: Daily News

 

A video posted on Facebook showed a doctor at Kluay Nam Thai Hospital telling a cancer patient there was no hope. 

 

Netizens complained that the consultant was unnecessarily abrupt and dashing the woman's hopes. She looked resigned to her fate in a wheelchair as her relatives filmed. 

 

Tens of thousands of Thais shared the video - up to 50,000 today. 

 

The woman - suffering from the complications of liver cancer - was told that she won't die today - but she has two years at the outside. 

 

She is told: "Get ready to say goodbye to your children - you can't be cured". 

 

The footage sparked a debate online between brutal honesty and giving hope. 

 

It appeared on the page of Sunee Kaewtangsin. 

 

 -- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-02-14

 

 

[PJPom 1,648]

All that I would want is pain relief if necessary, chemo only seems to prolong life without regard to the quality.

I put forward my view concerning me only, a more youthful person should make their own decisions.

The Doctor May be blunt but should she lie ?

[colinneil 63,355]

Sorry i disagree with people getting upset when a doctor tells the truth.

Doctors were telling me and my wife 8 months to 1 year and you will be walking again.

My wife got angry with me when i told them BS, my spinal cord is broken and i know i will never walk again.

Only 1 doctor told the truth his words were....you can only look forward to a wheelchair nothing more, and i thanked him for being truthful, the others were telling me what they thought i wanted to hear.

[quandow 6,578]

[lipflipper 554]

I suppose it depends on what you are diagnosed with and if even alternatives such as other treatments have been deemed useless then let me die in peace and for the pain if there is any as much morphine as my my body can take.

Sent from my CMR-AL19 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[bannork 8,968]

In my experience the patient took the news bravely and stoically, Thais often seem to, I've met three who told me they had little time to live, 2 were suffering from liver cancer, and they were right.

I think the consultant had good intentions, it seems a previous doctor hadn't been straight with the family, still her manner of delivery was somewhat abrupt. She could have adopted a softer tone. Perhaps she was overworked and tired.

[robblok 36,305]

6 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Sorry i disagree with people getting upset when a doctor tells the truth.

Doctors were telling me and my wife 8 months to 1 year and you will be walking again.

My wife got angry with me when i told them BS, my spinal cord is broken and i know i will never walk again.

Only 1 doctor told the truth his words were....you can only look forward to a wheelchair nothing more, and i thanked him for being truthful, the others were telling me what they thought i wanted to hear.

I think the doctor is right by telling the truth. Lying should not be done by doctors.

[overherebc 17,532]

Friend in UK has just had surgery to remove some bits and tumors and further tests showed stage 4 cancer.

They were told straight away what to expect so are trying to fit what time is left with things they always wanted to do.

For me I would like upfront news. 

[SammyT 5,480]

If there is one thing I've learnt about Thais in my time here - it's that they hate direct and up front conversations. Personally, I'd rather hear it straight up, so I'm not uncertain about it all. Most Thais would seemingly rather hear a "mai pen rai" and then cling to false hope that it will all be okay

[Bluespunk 50,199]

55 minutes ago, webfact said:

Netizens complained that the consultant was unnecessarily abrupt and dashing the woman's hopes. She looked resigned to her fate in a wheelchair as her relatives filmed. 

Netizens-the lowest common denominator, where intelligent thought is concerned. 

[Bluespunk 50,199]

57 minutes ago, webfact said:

The footage sparked a debate online between brutal honesty and giving hope. 

"and giving hope"

 

You mean lying.

[sweatalot 8,639]

I have been working with a lot of dying humans - they all knew.

It is not simply telling the truth or lying - there is a third way: withholding the truth until it is requested, and there is a difference between offering a fatal truth - or force it on someone

Patients sometimes are not ready to hear the truth. And you don't know. Then it could be a good idea to start slowly, giving them a piece of truth that would make them ask for more or just the full truth. If they don't ask I'd leave it this way. May be next time they will be ready. I don't think it is a good idea to force the truth on someone who does not want to know. But always be ready to tell the truth when it is wanted. If you want to find out you could start with a question "what do you think how your ailment will go on?" 

[Just1Voice 24,313]

If I'm dying, then TELL ME!  Don't give me "well, maybe" b.s.  I'm a big boy who has had one hell of a life.  Trust me, I can handle it.  Probably a lot better than my family could. 

 

[SammyT 5,480]

7 minutes ago, sweatalot said:

Patients sometimes are not ready to hear the truth. And you don't know. Then it could be a good idea to start slowly, giving them a piece of truth that would make them ask for more or just the full truth.

Absolute rubbish. It is the doctor's job to tell them what they need to know, not what they want to hear and then rely on them asking the right questions to get the right answer. 

[jaltsc 9,223]

"The footage sparked a debate online between brutal honesty and giving hope." 

 

Right!!! Denial is a much better course of treatment.

 

If you know you have a limited time to live, You stop taking life for granted. You have the opportunity of being with your loved ones and living each moment as though time were the most precious gift. I worked with many people who were aware of the limited time they had to live, and many, if not most, related to me that after being given a "death sentence" they found more meaning in life than the had experienced in all the preceding years. 

There are only two absolutes about life when one is born.  They are going to experience pain, and they will die one day.