“It is easy to get a thousand prescriptions but hard to get one single remedy.” – Chinese Proverb
Arnold Goodman, MD, MM patient, and relatively new columnist over at The Myeloma Beacon has written a very nice article today that you should take a look at. I’ve talked a bit in the past about how you should regard physicians that you are consulting with in your journey to find the right treatment course for your Multiple Myeloma. While Dr. Goodman chose a different path than us, what he writes in this article I completely agree with. As I have also written on numerous occasions, whatever treatment path you choose, needs to be yours, hopefully one of an informed choice and that you need to OWN it and move forward, don’t look back, no regrets.
Thank you Dr. Goodman for bringing your very personal perspective to your own journey with Multiple Myeloma.
Agreed Karen! I think it was great to see a physician address their limitations and biases, to help patients/caregivers to assess not just the MM information they are imparting, but helping them to give it “weight”. It is all very subjective. It was good of him to present it, from a physician’s point of view. I appreciated the honesty.
hi lori,
i found dr. goodman’s article very interesting. but while i appreciate the peek into how drs. think, i hope the main message is not lost; that it behooves pts/cgs to be prepared with a working understanding of their unique form of myeloma, including current controversies on treatment and how decisions made early on may impact their choices further down the road. as myeloma medicine evolves into more individulaized treatment modalities, this is a tough process for new patients, and even for more seasoned ones, to deal with. it makes it crucial to be able to discern one’s physcian’s willingness to work together with the patiient and their cg. and i agree, a forthright answer to a question posed, like, “i dont’ know” should not be considered as not acceptable – but only if it’s followed by something like, “that’s a good question; let me see what i can find out for you.” thank goodness we have your blog, lori – so many excellent resources to help guide and inform so many issues myeloma patients/caregivers grapple with. and thanks to dr. goodman for sharing his valuable insight and experience with us.