question for a friend - dr's found something on his mothers throat, won't tell her what....

[hazeyjane]

...she is having treatment for a heart problem, when she saw on her notes 'throat, patient unaware', they have scanned her (using barium), but won't tell her what for or what could be wrong. She is terrified and dh's friend (her son) is beside himself with worry.

Does anyone know why they wouldn't be telling her, because I know if it was me my mind would leap to the worst conclusion.

Any ideas or info would be greatly appreciated - thanks.

How did she 'see' her notes. Has she asked her doc and been refused the information?

If not, your fiends mother needs to ask the doc directly herself. He's not allowed to tell anyone else (confidentiality) and he's morally (not sure about legally) obliged to keep her fully informed of her health status.

If friends mother is elderly/incapable, then her son needs to look into power of attorney at which point her doc can discuss medical matters with him.

Thankyou Pheebe

I don't know how she saw her notes, but I know when i was going through treatment for a molar pregnancy i had access to my notes and saw them regularly, was this unusual?

She has asked the doctor, but they just said they couldn't tell her and wouldn't discuss possiblities until they had seen results from scan.

She is not incapable, so don't think issues of powers of attorney come into play.

It's a mystery.

Lovin' Libra's top tip....do all of that and then GOOGLE it! Now that really does turn your adrenalin brown!

I agree - they don't start wafting possibilities around until they're more sure of dx and have facts etc.

Best wishes.

Why did they tell her that she needed the barium investigation? They must have given her a reason?

No its not unusual to be able to see your notes at all, it just sounded like she's seen them by accident.

I absolutely agree with Libra, if GP is waiting on results that he/she's right not to commit to anything and probably has nothing to firm to say at this point.

The 'unaware' comment might simply mean that she hasn't reported it herself and whatever 'it' is isn't causing her pain/discomfort. What reason did they give for her having a barium meal? Was it just part of her work up for her heart condition? (Don't feel you have to answer any of these questions BTW, they're just things to think about)

As far as I'm aware the scan was because they had found something in her throat, when she asked what, they said they couldn't say etc.

I can understand the not wanting to come to any firm conclusions, but I think I'd want to know what it could potentially be (like if you have a breast scan they say, 'well this could be cancer or it could be a cyst, we'll know more when we see results'). I think the first thing her and her son thought was 'Agh throat cancer!' It would be good to know if there were other less serious things it could be.

I hope they get the results of the scan soon, because it is the longest wait in the world when you are worrying about these things.

at the brown adrenalin, Doodle2u, Dh has been banned from googling symptoms, he has had many potentially chronic conditions!

They doctors wouldnt give us any answers when we asked what they thought was wrong with DH. They told us they were doing tests, but would not tell us anything even when we asked outright. They wont till they get all results conformed. DH has cancer btw, but doesnt mean its bad, but they like to be 100% so they can be honest