Many patients struggle with uncertainty about what's happening now, what will happen in the future, and what they should do. Having dealt with illness-related uncertainty on both sides of the stethoscope, I've developed an approach that has helped me deal with my heightened sense of uncertainty in healing ways.
I share my perspective in a 4-part series in my regular column in Oncology Times, "View from the Other Sides of the Stethoscope. "Managing Uncertainty (Part I: Background) is now available online.
You'll read how I focus on “'managing patients' reactions to uncertainty' instead of 'managing uncertainty.' Adding these three words is not trivial semantics. It shifts the locus of concern from uncertainty to patients. And instead of singling out the sensation of feeling uncertain, it casts a wider net that captures the spectrum of patients' emotions, preconceptions, and beliefs that come into play when faced with uncertainty."
You'll see how I distinguish between two types of uncertainty and two categories of patient issues.
This background material sets the stage for sharing my approach in Part II, an approach that may help other patients get good care and live as fully as possible -- in other words, an approach that fosters Healthy Survivorship.
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