Since this is so much a personal matter, opening the subject for open discussion and your thoughts on this health defining issue.
This AM, went to the Friday AM coffee with my older friends in our CCRC, and the discussion turned to the general feelings about how we handle situations where "choice" has forced us to make decisions about our healthcare. More directed to cases where the choice came down to the alternative of surgery, or other means such as diet, physical therapy or medication.
Of course there are situations where there is no choice, but often there's a fine line, where risk/reward comes in to play. In our own case, we very much respect our doctor's advice, but this has always been after an in depth analysis wherein he brings the surgery option down to a percentage of risk... as well as the expected downsides of the alternative options.
There is no "right" answer here, and no one can definitively say today, what decision may be made tomorrow, but I was somewhat put off, in todays discussion, to find that some of my friends totally abide by their doctors' recommendations.
Because some choices come upon us unexpectedly... as in cases where a medical test gives unwanted results, medical decisions are often made in haste. Because we have seen this, our resolve is to (at least) sleep on any final decision.
Would you share your thoughts on this? Have you been faced with this type of decision, and what influenced your choice?