>>He told me that if cancer developed, it would probably be
>>within a specific ten-year period in my adult life--I believe
>>it was 35-45, but I am not certain. I was ten when I had the
>>first surgery on my hip.
Christine,
I can't deny the truth of what you say. But I believe that if such a
statement were made today to a 10-year-old child, it could be considered malpractice, due to it being scientifically inaccurate, as well as causing wholly unnecessary alarm and fears. It seems credible that such a statement would have extremely deleterious effects for the remainder of that child's life.
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David, all of that happened almost 40 years ago, and my doctor's answer to me was based on the medical knowledge available at that time. It is TRUE that x-rays heighten the risk of cancer. But my doctor did not say that I was likely to get cancer, simply that I had a slightly increased risk, in response to my question. I used this information to make sure I didn't get any unnecessary x-rays, and I can promise you it has not had any deleterious effects on the rest of my life. As I said before, any patient mature enough, or sentient enough, to articulate questions about his or her own medical condition should receive truthful answers, in my opinion.
I also was concerned about whether I would be crippled when I was an adult as the result of the surgeries, and my doctor put me in touch with an adult woman in my own community who had had the same kind of surgeries as a child, and who was fully functional and very active. I met her and talked over everything with her. As I said, he was a highly skilled surgeon and a very thoughtful and decent man, as well.
Yes, good news about the regulations on organic food!!!! Who wants cucumbers grown in sewage sludge, anyway? Yuuucccckkkk!! |
