How to talk to your doctor with a lump in your throat and I assumed that what was meant by that is the fact that people are afraid to talk to their doctors they're afraid and it's a question. I've had patients many times say to me. I'm really the satisfied or dissatisfied with the care that my doctor is giving me and I'll say that I'm well once you get yourself another doctor, and I don't want to hurt his feelings. I really don't want to hurt his feelings. Well, that's silly of course, but it's true and it's very decent quality. Nobody likes to hurt anybody else's feelings, but you have to remember that.This is a matter of your life and your health and you also want to remember. That a doctor. Is that a great disadvantage if he's taking care of a patient who does not have faith in him will who does not want to be his patient? We'd rather not have those people are eagles are not so sensitive that they can't stand having somebody sale. I really think I would like to go someplace else or see somebody else now. I can't say that to a wall. I just I dunno doctors who are right. That does happen and I'll tell you about it. I had which did not endear me. Unfortunately the medical profession in the immediate area when I had trouble with my heart. Two years ago. I wrote about this in the book. I used a pseudonym probably won't even use a Susan in today because I just don't use any name. But what happened was that I was playing racquetball in May of nineteen mile. Let's see it's made in 1975 and For the first time in my life. I was 47 years old and I had a little burning in my throat and I was last playing. Be a nice of us want to just catch my breath while you and that I did and then after a few minutes, we went back to playing racquetball. We played real very very hard for the next hour and 10 minutes and I had no difficulty at all. I went home. I told my wife what it happened and she said well it was probably too stuffy really should get outside now play tennis. And so I thought that's why I was willing to agree with that but two days later I did from play tennis and as we were changing courts that game 3 I again experience that Bruno Sensation in my throat and then I said hi and I just got to take a break for a second stannite. My throat is hurting and I did and I went back to playing tennis and we played two sets and the it went well. I don't know whether I want a while. I actually do whenever I won but at any rate, I couldn't attributed a car still the stuff in this because there was no promise stuffiness. We are outside and then I played racquetball again, and unfortunately, I had another episode but every time I was able to relieve of that episode simply by resting for a very few minutes, and I'm resuming the game and this one on for about three weeks. And finally I was playing one day. And the turkey farmer in Litchfield, and we always have very close matches are we used to and he's been beating irregularly lately, but that's neither here nor there at any rate. I had an attack in the damn and you be going to see a doctor there's something the matter with you and it's gotten so nobody out here wants to play it because they're afraid you're going to drop dead. Well that persuaded me that if maybe I should go see a doctor cuz I didn't want to give up Racquetball and I called the internist with whom or who has managed my hypertension since I've been in Minnesota, and he said he'd come on. We'll get a stress test on you and I said sure I'll come down with one and all I can make it sometime next month. He said no. No, you can run down tomorrow. So I went down the next day and I had the stress test and my stress test was positive and so it was suggested that I have an angiogram and the find out whether or not I did indeed have a block of my coronary artery or arteries and I agreed since I'd poured into the bypass literature and decided it was a good operation and we schedule it for the following week. I did call the person who was to perform the angiogram and I asked him specifically I said no cuz I want to try this feeling strange. Will you give me a call? You know, I knew it was positive. But sometimes they can read a little more into it than that. They can tell you exactly how positive it is. Well a week one by one of my partners talk to them to the cardiologist who is an excellent cardiologist. Technical phone interview at least and probably in every other way. Now I have my internist could call them and ask them and make sure they are the next Tuesday prepared to have the angiogram on Wednesday and I was going home and I had to gallbladders both of which were necessary by the way on the schedule for Friday and I got down there and I sat on the bed that has admitted to the hospital late did all the things that they routinely do. I didn't have to go into my pajamas right away. They drew some blood the technician was going to work on the angiogram came up and talked a little bit about it and about 4:00 in the afternoon on the cardiologists came in. And he said that dr. Nolan our bill. I think you better pick out a surgeon and I said God. Why why I said what? What do I need to pick out a surgeon now? I'm just down here for the angiogram. I haven't made up my mind where I want the operation done or who I want to have do it. And he said well from the looks of this time. You may have three vessel disease and if you do we sometimes have to go ahead and do the bypass has an emergency procedure and corsage for me immediately. I hadn't thought about it very much. I thought about it a little bit. Which I have sex and you know, you like to be prepared for something like that. It's not like having your toenails clipped and I said well. why don't you just Let me talk to my wife and make a couple of calls is a child. I just got the nurses station. I got some other things to do with he went out to the nurses station. I called up a friend of mine and Minneapolis another doctor and I said that what would you do if you were me you so well, I don't know I'd be trying to tempted to go someplace where they're doing an awful lot of those operations and then I called a friend of mine in, New Hampshire. Former classmate of mine from medical school in a fellow of who I've kept up my contacts for over the last 25 years. And I said, what would you do I need to water but I do so I get the hell out of there and he said if you don't I'm going to come out and get you out soon as a cardiologist back in and I said Doctor so on so, you know, I'm going to go home. I really don't like the way things are going so far and I'm going to go home and think it over and I am sorry for messing up your schedule for tomorrow, but earlier when you told me about this electric try to get my so well. You know if it's that abnormal, why didn't you call me? Why don't you let me know ahead of time you so well, I guess I was a little bit remiss I hadn't gotten around to looking at it until just now and I thought well, you know, if you don't have time to take the minute-and-a-half it talk to order that electric cardiogram then I just really didn't want them taking care of me. I felt that I had asked him on my partner. So I asked them and they interested at all at ask them it had the thing available for a week and they like to try near and that isn't he kind of looked at it and so I walked out and I went home and I gave it a lot of thought and I decide I'm a friend of mine in New Hampshire. In the meantime. I've been in touch with a friend of his at the Mass General and I went back there while you know, there are plenty of places in Minnesota Raven going to bypass done very nicely and I suppose I have no my roots are in Massachusetts and I went back there to have it done, but I can remember driving home and having my wife say to me, you know, I don't think I'd have had the courage to walk out of that hospital and I later talk to a medical report after telling me. The number of doctors that now he hated me and Minneapolis also told me that he didn't think he'd have had the guts to walk out of the hospital either but you you have to I mean you have a right to demand of your doctor not only Confident Care but cure administered with feeling you have a right to ask for a compassionate doctor this man over side of his part. I've done the same sort of thing. I've been guilty of it. I'm sure that in the past still waiting till the last second to look at some x-rays or getting lab reports late and the button and I shouldn't do it. None of us should do it, but you don't have a right to not only competent care but Compassionate Care and if you're not getting it, then you have a right and obligation not just for yourself but to your families and your friends to see to it that you do got it and turned out there when I did get back to Mass General first Malik cardiologist really don't want he was so awfully busy. He had such a busy practice and I had to go in on the 4th of July because nobody wanted to be in the hospital Fourth of July nights only. but I Fourth of July and it turned out that this man as something only because cardiologist to declare John Wayne when he had the pig valve put into his heart when I got back there and this man was just delightful. He would come into the room and sit down in the chair and Spell fine, but I knew he was taking from his family and I'm from other obligations that he had just to talk and to make sure that not only I but my wife Joan knew what was going on. And that's a kind of doctor that I think everybody is entitled and I say you don't have to sacrifice quality to get it they can be found today in tandem. I mean, there are a lot of very good doctors who have a lot of compassion as well. The fact is that it almost all studies studies will show that 70% of patients somewhere between 70 and 80% of patients are going to get well as long as it doesn't interfere with nature. I mean when they come that's nice. Ban takes get better Kohl's get the headaches get better. 10% of people. Unfortunately when they come to you, there isn't anything you can. Helpful, whatever. They've got them. And they're going to have to live with it. I mean they got multiple sclerosis. We don't know the answer we can help they may have disseminated cancer. That's beyond the reach of chemotherapy that we are getting better at reading all those things now so 10% you can't do anything for and so it's really only 10% of the patients are come to your office for whom you are able to do some good you're able to make the difference you were able to heal. And the trick of course for the doctor and what takes so long to train a doctor is to give him the ability to spot that particular 10% I mean and also to teach him not to interfere with the 70 or 80% that are going to get better as long as he doesn't hurt them. I guess what I'm saying is There isn't any reason why you should have a lump in your throat. When you talk to your doctor. I mean doctors are human beings are fallible. They have Eagles and get bruised. But I mean is your life and it's your help and if he's going to have a bruised ego and bruises, I mean get what you want. If the doctor doesn't tell you what you want to know then stay after umbilical cast. You may not be popular with the doctor. If you're in a hospital. Do you make your own to the nurses? Is that keston room 367, but you're alive past and you're getting good quality care and you ought to demand. We expect I do not know this has become a consumer-oriented society and I think it's fine. We're going to give you care and if we don't do the job that speak up because I think the AMA has come to agree that the good help as far as it can be supplied by physicians is the right of every American We all know what I'm not going to dwell on it that most ill-health is caused by the things that you choose to do and that I choose to do that is caused by smoking. It's caused by driving our cars too fast. It's caused by eating too much all of the it's cause we're not going to exercise all of those things are what make most illnesses or create most illnesses. If you avoid let me not going to have very much trouble anyway, and you're not going to need to see a doctor, but if you should Have to go to a doctor don't be afraid to speak up and if you don't like the way he or she is treating you then get yourself another doctor. We're producing twice as many now as we did 10 years ago and believe me. There are a lot of them looking for business. So you won't have any trouble finding somebody to take your case over.