Re: Delaying Surgery for Bladder Cancer Costly

J <analyse@invalid> wrote:


Scheduling was the most common reason for surgery delays. Other reasons
included: multiple opinions; misdiagnosis, or patient reluctance to be
treated. Patient indecision was not a common cause of lengthy delays, the
study said.
So the urologists themselves are the main cause of the delay..
If someone wanted to remove my bladder I'd also want a second opinion,
if possible from a tumor board which included medical- and radiation
oncologists.

"Most of these causes for delaying surgery are potentially reversible, and
physicians -- despite busy schedules and the need for second opinions --
need to be diligent about coordinating appointments and information in a
timely way," study author Dr. Cheryl Lee, director of the bladder cancer
program at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a prepared
statement.

If the second opinion at least led to curative radiation therapy of the
bladder then the delay was not in vain for those that made the right
choices. The neo-bladders can be useful but never achieve the function
of the patient's own bladder, even if it has been irradiated.
--
madiba
.

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