anonymous
20th September 2018
DOCTOR'S DILEMMA (3)
DOCTOR'S DILEMMA (3)
DR RAVI BAPAT
A physician sometimes succumbs to pressures as a result of
too many doctors getting involved in a case. I had a very popular medical studentMr S admitted under my care. He was
suffering from incurable cancer. Naturally, most of my colleagues were
interested in his welfare. The best opinions from Tata Memorial Hospital were
sought. The question was whether to give chemotherapy or not. There were two
distinct schools of thought. One school held that the prognosis was a foregone
conclusion, so why make him miserable with chemotherapy? The other school
wanted know what was lost in trying. The relatives were in a dilemma The
patient's sister was a trained nurse. Ultimately I was pressured to administer
chemotherapy. Alas, the patient developed severe side effects and ultimately
succumbed. I was deeply pained. Should I have been party to administering
chemotherapy to the patient, only to add to his misery?
Compilation of professional reminiscences of specialists - edited by M.V.Kamath and Dr.Rekha Karmarkar.