Quote:
Originally Posted by Villages PL
Well, as far as I know, doctors prefer not to talk about risk. So, what good is trustworthiness if the trustworthy doctor remains silent on this issue?
For those participating on this thread, here are some questions: Did your doctor inform you that you could die as a result of getting a colonoscopy? Did your doctor inform you that you could get a life threatening perforated colon? How about risks to the brain from anesthesia?
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The doctor is making the recommendation based on
the benefits outweighing the risks. It is a judgement call and the
art of medicine, not just presenting numbers/statistics.
If one wants to go purely on the numbers, then it is a waste of time to consult a doctor who has spent a minimum of 8 years of post-graduate education and training, and then years in practice, to learn to
evaluate the numbers
and empirical evidence.
A thinking, well-read patient would know that even when the odds are that 99 out of 100 patients will have no complications,
one could end up 100% screwed even though the practitioner did everything 100% correct by the textbook.
We make these same type of decisions every time we decide to get behind the wheel of a car or board an airplane.
Nobody knows when or why the kindest, healthiest, most loving and clean-living person you've ever known turns out to be the one who gets killed or maimed in an accident, or gets ravaged by a horrible cancer.
All we can conclude is: we don't determine when and how we'll suffer or not suffer, and die....either quickly or slowly. Only God knows when and how we'll go. Prayer asking for guidance on decision-making is powerful.