Oncologist wont advise because of blame culture

Zenduri

Zenduri

Zenduri

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Nottingham
Some of you may have read this in previous threads I've made but to give the condensed version.

Father was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Jan 22nd and since then he's seen 2 oncologists (to be honest i cant find fault with how quick he's seen them but that's the only good thing). Both however have been entirely useless

The first oncologist give my father the options, Radiotherapy or Surgery and basically told him to make his mind up to which he wanted without giving him any success estimates for either option or the side effects/possible side effects.
My father asked him for his recommendation based on the MRI, blood tests and biopsy test and he refused to comment

So he organized to see another oncologist and went to meet him today to discuss his options.

Again the second oncologist wouldn't give him any recommendation/estimates/opinions on which option would be better in his situation.

My father argued politely with him that the oncologist is the expert and see's this all day long and that he is asking for a recommendation for the best means for him to recover or prologue his life based on a) the information they have and b) their opinion based on their experience.

The oncologist turned around to him and bluntly said " he nor his colleague will advise on a best course of action or provide any recommendations so if anything goes wrong they wont get sued by my father"

He has no interest in suing anyone or arguing about who's responsible for what... he just wants to either recover or prolong his life and now he's completely dismayed and distraught because he cant get an informed opinion from anyone and doesn't want to play Russian roulette with his life.

Personally I'm completely disgusted at the oncologists attitudes and disgusted at the blame culture we live in causing this situation
 
Seems entirely rubbish that a doctor won't give their opinion on something like this especially when it really is just a best guess. Perhaps he could convince them to give their opinion if he signed a waiver agreeing not to sue if things don't go as planned? As said, these people are meant to be the experts in their field, if you can't make use of their insight then what's the point.

Can he threaten to sue if he isn't given a recommendation as it adversely affects his decision making and hence decreases his survival chances*

*Don't do this.
 
Antar Bolaeisk said:
Seems entirely rubbish that a doctor won't give their opinion on something like this especially when it really is just a best guess. Perhaps he could convince them to give their opinion if he signed a waiver agreeing not to sue if things don't go as planned? As said, these people are meant to be the experts in their field, if you can't make use of their insight then what's the point.

Can he threaten to sue if he isn't given a recommendation as it adversely affects his decision making and hence decreases his survival chances*

*Don't do this.
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He most likely could sue.
 
Are they a member of a professional body that governs how they should treat and advise patients? Maybe get in contact with them.
 
Refusing to give advice on your own field of expertise to a paitient who you should be trying to help just to protect yourself is surely the very definition of negligence :confused:
 
Which hospital?

Only asking as you're local and the Oncologist advising a family member at Nottingham City was helpful.
 
i was in the first one but not the one today, my step mums confirmed everything i've been told today as 100% accurate.

It really is shocking. Hes angry and really upset almost to tears because all he wants is advice on what to do.

edit: Its Boston Pilgrim Hospital in Lincolnshire
 
Angleboy said:
Refusing to give advice on your own field of expertise to a paitient who you should be trying to help just to protect yourself is surely the very definition of negligence :confused:
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No it's not, not even close.

Sounds like he's had plenty of advice, he just wants someone else to make the decision for him.
 
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starfighter said:
This seems stupid. How is the patient supposed to know what is the best course of action. Thats the damn doctors job.
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They take the doctors advice, weigh it up and then make an informed decision based on their personal circumstances, beliefs and desires.

Medicine shed paternalism decades ago.
 
Minstadave said:
No it's not, not even close.

Sounds like he's had plenty of advice, he just wants someone else to make the decision for him.
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How's he meant to know which is best for him? He can't make the decisions as they could have entirely different outcomes.

You don't tell someone they've got a broken leg and ask them how they want to go about getting on the mend for example.
You don't tell someone "Oh, you've been shot and you've got some internal bleeding, how do you want me to proceed?"

Etc.

Minstadave said:
They take the doctors advice, weigh it up and then make an informed decision based on their personal circumstances, beliefs and desires.

Medicine shed paternalism decades ago.
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Unless everyone in this thread has misread the OP, it would seem he hasn't been given any factual advice.
As far as OP's father is concerned he's been asked to flip a coin on his life.
 
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Martini1991 said:
How's he meant to know which is best for him? He can't make the decisions as they could have entirely different outcomes.
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You don't know the outcomes neither does the doctor, it's all about risk.

The surgery may have a chance of a better survival but may have a greater risk of impotence. For one chap impotence may be a small price to pay, for another man impotence may be utterly unacceptable. Hence you have to make your own choice.
 
Minstadave said:
You don't know the outcomes, it's not set in stone, it's all about risk.

The surgery may have a chance of a better survival but may have a greater risk of impotence. For one chap impotence may be a small price to pay, for another man impotence may be utterly unacceptable. Hence you have to make your own choice.
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And the OP denotes that this wasn't given to him?
 
Sorry but I think I'll go against the consensus so far, I don't see an issue with them outlining the two treatment options and letting the patient pick. Both will likely have positive and negative aspects, but outlining these risks and benefits and letting the patient decide would seem reasonable to me. While he seems to want them to make a decision for him perhpas it isn't so clear cut as to which option is best.

Since two of them have given you the same answer then if I were you I'd be reading as much information about both options as possible and persuading him to make a decision one way or another.
 
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