Now that I’m back in the clinic for some weekly fine-tuning of my maintenance regimen, one of my sources of blogging-topics inspiration is rekindled. Admittedly, in my short cancer tenure I don't have a lot of reference as to how long things should take to be processed by a lab, the results to then be analyzed by the appropriate doctor, the correct concoction to be mixed in the on-site pharmacy, and the proper dosage to be administered. One only need look back a mere decade to appreciate that we are benefiting from treatment options today that were barely dreamt of before. So however long the aforementioned intervention takes, when weighed against its total non-existence, a little wait time seems reasonable for the kinds of increasingly promising results we are seeing attained more and more.
There are some among us who have adopted a less tolerant approach than wait-and-see. Their attempts at accelerating progress or service tend to be more whine-and-sulk. This may be effective in the short term as staff members give them what they want sooner if only to hasten their completion (departure). But I have to believe that the quality of the intervention and interaction is compromised as a result. Clearly there is no diminishment in the medical value of their attention, but I just can't believe that anyone (patient, family-member or health care provider) walks away any happier from this encounter (transaction). From my own purely anecdotal evidence, I have determined that indeed you do tend to catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Don't get me wrong, I do have a sense of a reasonable threshold for tolerance, but I have rarely seen that boundary pushed to its max, nor realized the value of pressure/complaining as an effective motivator.
Without sounding preachy, we seem to be living in an increasingly short attention span universe; with Tweets, news sound bites, and instant everything. To borrow a phrase from said social media, the trending concept these days of slowing down and enjoying (especially the things worth waiting for like dining and life's little experiences) seems to be taking hold and growing in sampling and acceptance. In my mind, the capabilities and results of what I am getting are worth waiting for. Maybe that's why they call us "patients."
