And Don't Call Me Honestly!

Doctor, doctor, give me the news, I've got a bad case of lovin' you
No pill's gonna cure my ill, I've got a bad case of lovin' you - Robert Palmer Bad Case Of Loving You (LISTEN)

Sometimes you can't believe what you read especially when you read this WedMD headline: "Cancer Patients Want Honesty From Doctors." Who wants to be lied to when it comes to their health information. Patients might want the doctor to lie to their family and friends or maybe family and friends want the doctor's to lie to us - now that's news.We still think you should read the article and the stories because the story is more complicated than the headline would reveal. Many of the headlines, which are difficult to write, don't quite shed light on the complexity of the results. If the materials aren't publicly published we can't verify. We write (rather) email for more info to the mentioned speakers but they don't usually reply. While the info might be cited it can't always be checked. We just thought you should know! We're on it - as best we can! (YES, we know we said this before - both stories were to be one story but the length of the first precluded us from doing it.)

The story that Reuter's released highlighted: "(A)lmost three-quarters of the patients (72 percent) preferred to be called by their first name, even among elderly patients. There is a greater preference for this among females than males (76 percent to 66 percent), and white patients compared to blacks (74 percent to 56 percent). The study also shows that while 95 percent of all patients want their oncologist to be honest with them about their chances of cure and expected survival, there is a significantly increased preference for honesty among prostate cancer patients versus lung cancer patients (97 to 91 percent)."

Pearlie Mae Frierson Leach didn't mind being referred to by her first name though most doctors respected her age and did not. The doctors were young and overly optimistic about her chances all the while ignoring her mental state. Pearlie Mae could have responded to radiation treatment yet chose to not do so. She had given up when the family and doctors did not. That affected her recovery more than anything else. Her bone cancer would have meant and even greater dependence on pain medication. For Pearlie Mae that was an intolerable future.