Put On Your Listening Ears

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I just watched an e[episode of Mystery Diagnosis that horrified me. It was based on a young woman in her early 20's that had been complaining of having a problem breathing, dizziness, and passing out for two years. She had been going from doctor to doctor and they all passed it off as a virus or pneumonia. They took x-ray after x-ray and all kept saying she was exaggerating her symptoms. At one point she felt like giving up. She had reached to point of feeling so badly that she started wishing she was dead, thinking that at least she would feel better. She finally showed up at a new doctors office demanding to be seen. The doctor was intrigued by the fact that this girl was so insistent and agreed to see her. After listening carefully to the girl she immediately saw a problem with the girls lungs and checked them out thoroughly. That girl had Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Because that doctor listened to her new patient that patient is alive today. She is still quite ill but she is surviving which she might no long be if her doctor had not put on her listening ears. It is so important to find a doctor that listens to you. I read a post earlier by @Courtlynn about this type of thing happening - doctors not listening to their patients.