In
one of those moments that seems like a coincidence but really isn't, I happened
across a very informative and moving documentary on the IPTV World channel last
night. It's called "Consider the Conversation 2" and you can
click here to see when it will be rebroadcast in your area: BROADCAST
SCHEDULE ON WORLD CHANNEL.ORG
It
includes the incredible story of a physician's honest admission about why he
had suggested aggressive treatment in a case that he knew to be hopeless and a
discussion of how to handle that dicey issue of "hope vs. reality."
That is one of my deepest regrets when I think of my brother Wesley's diagnosis
and struggle with leukemia in 1998: I was so busy working very hard to be
"hopeful," we never talked about what it meant for him to face the
possibility of dying.
This documentary is a
comprehensive and hopeful perspective on what shared decision making between
patient and physician can truly mean. It's for anyone who is now, or may one
day, be a consumer of the health care system--oh yeah, that's all of us!