Monday, September 29, 2008

Word Of The Day

I get some email word of the day and today's word is "indolent".

indolent \IN-duh-lehnt\ (adjective) - 1 : Disinclined to exert oneself; habitually lazy. Conducive to inactivity or laziness; lethargic. 2 : Causing little or no pain. Slow to heal, grow, or develop; inactive.
"For the indolent body there are soft lounges, soft stools; for indolent feet soft rugs; for indolent eyes faded, dingy, or flat colors..." -- Anton Chekov, 'The Wife'
Late Latin indolens, indolent-, painless : Latin in-, not + Latin dolens, present participle of dolere, to feel pain.

It struck me because, at one point, Dr. Schlossman at the Dana Farber used the word to describe my cancer. At the time he was speaking generally about my options. Remember, he wouldn't get specific because he didn't have the foolish bone marrow biopsy results? But he did discuss things in general terms. At one point he said I had the option of doing nothing until things got bad. I was surprised. Everyone else has talked as though it is best to get going. I questioned him about that and said the others have told me it's best to seek treatment while I am strong and symptom free. He shrugged and said yes that was a good point and after all my cancer was indolent but it could change without warning into an aggressive form.

Just another reason we didn't pick him. It was like he was rambling and correcting himself. I like decisive men, always have. From my father to John Wayne to the Rotation, I have never had patience for a man who says "Well, I don't know......what do you think?" Just another reason that Dr. Miller from Tufts/NEMC won. I understand Schlossman didn't have my actual results, but I am pretty well versed in my condition. I knew and relayed the highlights, the pertinent factors that make my case what it is. Dr. Miller had a recommendation. Dr. Hochstin had a recommendation. This guy just wavered and argued with himself.

LOL, can you tell the more I think about Dana Farber, the pissier I get? I am resentful everytime I have to tell the story and I get to the part about Schlossman, his zoo-ish waiting room, his not having my results and his attitude towards my Dad....and I have to tell the story a lot! Now this morning I open my email and there is that word "indolent" another reminder.

1 comment:

Stella by Starlight said...

At one point he said I had the option of doing nothing until things got bad. Excuse me, but WTF? He does need the biopsy, but the option of doing nothing? I found a surprising post from the Mayo Clinic: If a patient has a stable form of multiple myeloma, called "smoldering myeloma," the hematologist may recommend no treatment.. There are, of course, other options.

The NIH has good resources, including alternative therapies, which may or may not help. You probably do not need this info, here it is if you do.

Clearly, this is not the time to select an indolent doctor. Sorry for your ordeal, Maggie.