“The tumor remains unchanged…”
“The tumor remains unchanged…”My brother-in-law has been in the hospital for 4 months. Michael is a trooper. After lots of chemo and battling a couple of stubborn infections the MRI showed a 90% shrinkage of a cancerous tumor. Greatly encouraged, he endured more rounds of chemo, antibiotics, and another MRI. The doctor then said, “This new MRI shows the tumor size is unchanged.”
The family assumed that hospice was the next step. Out-of-town family began to travel to see Michael due to this turn of events.
No one asked, “Doctor, what does ‘unchanged’ mean?”
Had they asked the doctor would have said, “Michael is in remission.”
The word that will get you into trouble (every time)
Assume (verb) or Assumption (noun)
Negative ripple effect
When you use this word you will…
- Make mistakes ➜ I assumed she got the email newsletter.
- Get embarrassed ➜ I made the assumption that everyone was on Central Time.
- Come to inaccurate conclusions ➜ We assumed the fourth quarter would replicate the third quarter.
Next steps for you
- Do not use the word “assume” or “assumption”.
- Do ask more questions that can clarify a situation and keep you out of guessing limbo-land.
- Do push for more info when someone else says “assume” or “assumption”.
PS: Michael is still in remission. Keep him in your prayers.
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As a medical doctor, I can also assure you that “medical” people speak in jargon way too often and have set up systems that are inherently difficult to understand which leads to mistakes.
Examples:
The chest x-ray was negative. Assumption…”Oh my god! What is wrong, the x-ray is NEGATIVE! In medical speak, this is a GOOD THING. It means that it is negative for BAD things.
Cat scans of the abdomen are read as if you cut the patient in half and are looking UP at the body. Cat scans of the brain are the OPPOSITE! This can lead to confusion.
An x-ray or IVP of the kidneys is viewed as looking at the patient from the front, a nuclear scan of the kidneys assumes you are looking from the rear. Many mistakes have been made and the wrong kidneys operated on.
Keep up the good work and I will continue to send prayers.
The wrong kidney gets operated??? 😱 Thank you for this detailed response. You have shared some excellent examples of how confusing medical situations can get. It’s so important for the patient/family to be self-advocates and I wish there were more doctors like you. One thing is for sure, we all must eradicate the word “assume”.
Karen, As a former and longtime journalist and editor, I was part of the newsroom management teams at large metro newspapers.
In training new reporters, we used two advisory slogans:
1. If your mother says she loves you, check it out.
2. The first three letters of “assume” are “A-S-S.” Don’t be one.
Gene – LOVE this!!! Those two slogans should be a part of everyone’s training. Assume = Ass + u + me.
Thanks so much for your comment!