4 ms·

Given the complexities of the Whipple procedure, I'm not sure I would go through with it either, honestly. I'm not a doctor, but I've dealt with a looot of onc

Given the complexities of the Whipple procedure, I'm not sure I would go through with it either, honestly. I'm not a doctor, but I've dealt with a looot of oncologists, and with people at the end of life from cancer. Most cancer docs would choose to go through with far less cancer treatments than their patients typically choose.

phonon 4y ago
His tumor was caught early and easily operable (it was a rare type of pancreatic cancer that was). No doctor would have suggested he ignore the surgical option for diet etc, changes. By the time he changed his mind/it got worse, his options were much more limited.
- 6stringmerc 4y ago
  Even then he had options only the 1% can do - move to a state to cut in line. Still didn’t work. I think he was just trying to hang in long enough to see his $200M yacht get finished and in the water. Oops.
- epistasis 4y ago
  > easily operable I could be wrong, but I thought the operation was a Whipple procedure, and the concern I lay out is that the operation is not easy.
refurb 4y ago
Well of course doctors would - they’re not going through it so don’t have all the emotional baggage the patients do.
- Cederfjard 4y ago
  I think you misunderstand - they're saying that the doctors would elect to receive less treatments than the average patient if they themselves were sick - presumably because they are well aware of the low likelihood of success and the brutality of going through it. I'm not a physician, either, but this rings true with experiences from my own life, were people I knew who were doctors decided early to stop treatment and let the disease run its course (and subsequently passed away).
- andyjohnson0 4y ago
  The person you are replying to is saying that doctors often choose to forgo treatment options that their patients undergo. See https://hms.harvard.edu/news/how-doctors-die https://hms.harvard.edu/news/how-doctors-die - "Physicians are less likely than the general population to undergo intense end-of-life treatments"
gjulianm 4y ago
The Whipple procedure in pancreatic cancer is usually only performed with curative intent. It's not a palliative treatment. I think most people, when faced with the possibility of getting a cure for pancreatic cancer (which, believe me, it's not a nice cancer at all) would choose to go with that procedure.

phonon 4y ago

His tumor was caught early and easily operable (it was a rare type of pancreatic cancer that was). No doctor would have suggested he ignore the surgical option for diet etc, changes. By the time he changed his mind/it got worse, his options were much more limited.

6stringmerc 4y ago
Even then he had options only the 1% can do - move to a state to cut in line. Still didn’t work. I think he was just trying to hang in long enough to see his $200M yacht get finished and in the water. Oops.
epistasis 4y ago
> easily operable I could be wrong, but I thought the operation was a Whipple procedure, and the concern I lay out is that the operation is not easy.

refurb 4y ago

Well of course doctors would - they’re not going through it so don’t have all the emotional baggage the patients do.

Cederfjard 4y ago
I think you misunderstand - they're saying that the doctors would elect to receive less treatments than the average patient if they themselves were sick - presumably because they are well aware of the low likelihood of success and the brutality of going through it. I'm not a physician, either, but this rings true with experiences from my own life, were people I knew who were doctors decided early to stop treatment and let the disease run its course (and subsequently passed away).
andyjohnson0 4y ago
The person you are replying to is saying that doctors often choose to forgo treatment options that their patients undergo. See https://hms.harvard.edu/news/how-doctors-die https://hms.harvard.edu/news/how-doctors-die - "Physicians are less likely than the general population to undergo intense end-of-life treatments"

gjulianm 4y ago

The Whipple procedure in pancreatic cancer is usually only performed with curative intent. It's not a palliative treatment. I think most people, when faced with the possibility of getting a cure for pancreatic cancer (which, believe me, it's not a nice cancer at all) would choose to go with that procedure.