Medical Mistakes--Overwhelmed?

Many sick people don't want to even think about the possibility that their doctors could make a mistake--thinking about it is just too frightening. And even if you have decided that you want to guard against medical errors, you may not think that you have the energy to be your own watchdog.

In that case, ask a friend or family member to go with you to treatments or surgery and take on this responsibility.

Choose a person who is calm, methodical, and detail oriented. Also, choose someone who can ask questions of authority figures in a way that gets results. Your advocate needs to be assertive without being unnecessarily confrontational or demanding. He or she needs to be polite and matter-of-fact, while checking to make sure that everything is as it should be.

Medical expertise is not required, but then again, it doesn’t hurt. Remember my friend who took a nurse with her to her surgery in Mexico.

Here is what you (or your watchdog) can say if you are unsure about something during chemotherapy: “Something doesn’t look right to me. Can we double-check the dose/drug/timing?”

The same is true for all kinds of cancer treatment—surgery, radiation therapy, and all the rest. If something doesn’t look right, or isn’t what you were expecting, speak up.

Finally, if, or when, you do catch a medical mistake, first make sure it is corrected. Then report it, preferably in writing. (Your hospital or cancer center probably has signs posted telling you who to contact if you have concerns about your care.) Some people are afraid to do this, because they don’t want to anger their doctors or nurses because they think this will hurt their relationships with these people.

It is hard to overcome this socialization, but I promise you, a good doctor (and a good cancer center) wants to know when a mistake has been made, large or small. So speak up, and then pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

At this point, you are probably wondering if mistakes have ever been made in MY cancer treatment. The answer is yes, they have, and I speak from experience. The details will have to wait for another day.

@ Jeanne Sather 2006