“The God Complex” (Cancerventures)
“My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.”
Psalm 31:15
Beyond any medical community, expertise, and official reports, your times, and mine are, ultimately, in HIS Hands.
Still, for so many of us diagnosed, part of our advocating for ourselves and our “fight” includes dealing with “The God Complex” within the medical community.
(Cancerventures Book Excerpt)
…I have learned some things from my experiences. Some may be helpful to you.
And they go a little something like this.
First, no means no.
If you are feeling passionate about your own unique cancer experience, that is valid. If it requires you to say no to opinions and even treatment options, likewise, that is also valid.
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. This is happening to you, not them.
Cancer Legal Care:
If you have difficulty being heard and respected, my second bit of advice may involve seeking legal cancer advice from an entity like a Cancer Legal Care organization. These places are out there. Self-explanatory, they offer advice about what to do if/when you’re in a quandary.
If you have a situation like mine, the advice you may get may be to seek the charge nurse surgical services manager, a patient advocate, or the patient relations department.
There should be at least one of these entities within your hospital or clinic…
…The God Complex- Do as I Say:
My personal take, based on my experiences? The higher and greater the degree of specialty, the more likely a chance for an infallible ego to exist.
Surgeons, especially, have gotten the distinction of possessing this “God complex.” They feel they hold life and death in their hands; they often believe their way should be the only way. One small detail, however: the patient. The human, complicated and unique patient.
Doctors, in my opinion, can often get tunnel vision about data and results. A doctor can, therefore, possibly place less of his/her priority on the patient’s psyche and life- apart from cancer.
And, as I have experienced numerous times, they don’t like being questioned or challenged.
But, again, this is your life, your body, your experience with cancer. It is most personal.
And it is your choice. You’re going to live with what happens in and to you, not your doctor.
So, I don’t minimize the validity of a patient’s decision, even if it goes against the tide.
No, I am not the poster girl for survivorship and treating cancer in the “right way” (not that there is a “right way” in the first place).
Rather, I’m more interested in being the heard, diagnosed person. Call me delusional, impossible, unrealistic, or even suicidal. I see it as making the choices that are right for me, prayerfully, carefully, thoughtfully. But I still get to make my choice…
