Friends and family say doctors should give lifestyle advice to cancer patients
Friday 8 February 2013
Cancer Research UK Press Release
Should doctors be giving more advice t... - My Cancer Community
Should doctors be giving more advice to cancer patients about changes to lifestyle?
Written by
PennyBrohnCancerCare
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7 Replies
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Doctors are not qualified to give life style change advice. Also Medical authorities hands are tied because of Government bodies not listening to latest developements in Complimentary medicine. ie the lack of recognition in Chiropracty or the eat well plate that is on every notice board in hospitals. (or the eat badly plate!) There is also questions about Saturated fat, the need for statins and whether cholesterol needs to be so low.
So unfortunately we all have to find these things out for ourselves.
A good example is something my GP said to me over some controversy with me and drugs that were lowering my cholesterol and making me ill. "You know more about Cholesterol than I do, because Doctors don,t have the time to find out!"
So what time would doctors have to help someone change their lifestyle?
What is needed is a recognised, open minded Government body to help. But the Governments hands are tied because of faceless people who are in turn being influenced by food and pharmaceutical agencies. Look up who is on a lot of the panels.
No I don't think they should - themselves , not with just 10 mins for appointments and so many patients needing that crucial and timely referral or diagnosis. BUT they should be referring us on - giving out leaflets on the appropriate national or local support group, complementary therapists etc There should be more CLEAR AND SIMPLE leaflets explaining these , so patients don't have false expectations etc. The role of signposting self help like this , at surgeries and outpatients could be one for trained volunteers -part of the Big Society whatever that is. The GP needs to confidently signpost patients in first instance to give whoever talks to patients some authority and the patient trust in that person. Breast Care Nurses are good example but a lot of their work could be done by trained non nurses, still need the bc nurses for some of medical support and answering medical questions. Fitting adapted clothes, dealing with hair loss etc could be done by non nurses. Just one eg.
Doctors time is so limited, so I feel it is the nurses and similar that should be better educated on the myriad of resources and tools out there in order to empower us to seek out what we need. Sometimes it is us who can actually empower our supporters by sharing who and what works for us. Without even thinking about it, I have enlightened my oncologist, breast care nurse, district nurse, GP and anyone who cares to listen to me on the virtues of Penny Brohn and The Rowan Tree, a local cancer charity I go to for therapies.
Doctors could have a list of resources for patients and suggest patients follow up those of interest to them but at present so many people are unaware of what is out there
My own experience of the GP was one of indifference to my pleadings regarding my whole body exhaustion but once I had a symptom for them to deal with, everything has been really tremendous. To be honest, the lower levels of the medical profession have been more interested and useful to me with regards lifestyle issues. My Lymphodema Specialist, the GP Nurse giving me my Hormone Injections, the Macmillan Trust nurses and even the Team in the Radiotherapy Suite who all knew how to laugh (Bless them for that), they all have contributed to my knowledge of Lifestyle Changes. But, I would so much have appreciated a wee bit more interest from the GP........!
No, Doctors have enough to be doing already, they are not trained to do this nor are they necessarily interested in the complexity of making lifestyle changes - eg it is often hard to make changes in one part of your life without making many other changes too. And as previously said the 10 minute consultation is just not set up for this.
But I agree with the earlier comments, there are many professionals who can help and what GPs can do is refer on to these professionals. For example, I am an experienced professional coach. My practice includes life coaching as well as executive and leadership work. My work is with people facing unfamiliar challenges to create change for themselves and others, so this is what I am trained to do. There are many other kinds of professionals too.
But the GPs have quite a challenge. With these many different professionals ( and not so professionals to steer clear of...! ) in all sorts of guises choosing who best to refer onto is not easy. I wonder what can be done to help GPs with this.
There is another blocker too, one of cost. Unlike GPs, a lot of the services that can help make lifestyle and other changes come at a financial cost. For those who cannot afford to pay it is only through charitable organisations such as Penny Brohn that complementary help is available, and even then I am not sure what they offer to help people make lifestyle choices and changes. I used to have some pro bono clients but with my own illness I really need to be paid for my work to make ends meet, and in current financial climate many people will find it hard to make the choice to spend more money when their income can be affected by their illness.
As I'm discovering for myself your ordinary G.P has now knowledge of how to give after care treatment. I felt 'left in the wilderness' after my operation for the removal of most of my colon.
Hence I Some kind person referred me to Penny Brohn Cancer Care.
I'm still learning about what I can eat and what to expect.
I would love contact with someone who is also experiencing the same.
