There was a time when a doctor's word
was law. He was trusted and worthy of the confidence placed in him,
so you didn't question his diagnosis or advice. You took those two
pills and called him in the morning, and then obeyed his next instructions,
knowing you'd be better for it. That time has gone, for the most
part, the way of the dinosaur, and it's a good thing. With the increase
of misdiagnoses and malpractice, and the outrageous rise of medical
costs, the wary patient has opted, wisely, to take charge of her
health options. Unfortunately for some, however, the dinosaur has
not quite sunk into oblivion. An example of this is the high number
of unwarranted hysterectomies that take place every year,
on the advice of doctors.In one published study, researchers
discovered that hysterectomies had been inappropriately recommended
to 367 of 497 women. Instead of offering women less evasive, alternative
treatments, it is clear that recommending hysterectomies is the
norm, leading to more hysterectomies being performed than are actually
necessary.
So why are doctors so quick
to recommend hysterectomies and so negligent about informing their
patients of alternatives? The answer is a cultural one: it's what
doctors are taught, and what women have come to expect. Doctors
are taught in medical school that a hysterectomy is good for a woman
and offers her a "new lease on life," while women, for
their part, often remember their own mothers undergoing the surgery,
and consider it normal. Yet, if doctors adequately informed women
of the risks (such as sexual dysfunction and mood alteration), as
well as alternative solutions, many would likely reject the invasive
procedure.
Alternatives such as drug therapy,
removal of fibroids (rather than the entire uterus), or blocking
of the blood supply to fibroids (embolization), can protect and
save the emotional and physical well-being of multitudes of women.
Teaching medical students about these procedures, and requiring
doctors to provide adequate information both on hysterectomy risks
and hysterectomy alternatives is of the utmost importance.
The dinosaur is sinking. It is almost
submerged in the mire of extinction, but bubbles are still rising
to the surface while all around float cervices, fallopian tubes,
ovaries, and wombs of countless women unnecessarily convinced to
have hysterectomies. As time progresses, however, more and more
women are beginning to take their emotional and physical health
back into their own hands. Perhaps soon, then, the bubbles will
stop.
