The strange case of Mrs lee?

Question

Mrs.Lee was a 49yrs old cantonese-speaking women who had immigrated years ago from china to the US. she lived with her husband a nd youngest son, arnold,22. studies revealed that mrs lee suffered from lung cancer that had metastasized to her lymph nodes and adrenal glands. arnold did not want mrs lee's diagnosis known to her. eventually, the cancer spread to her brain. her physician, knowing her poor prognosis,suggested a DNR to her son, who refused to even discuss the possibility with his mother. arnold felt thathis role as son and family member meant he must protet his mother"bad news" and lose hope. he belived telling her the dim prognosis would be cruel and cause unnecessary stress. thought futile, the son insisted that all heroic methods be used, including a ventilator, to save his mother's life. he accused the house staff and the physician of racism and threatened litigation. as family member, consider himself, not the doc or patient, responsible for his mother treatment.

Answer 1

That was an excellent episode of ER many years ago. It was based on a true story.

Years ago, and even today, people used to think if you told someone they had Cancer, the news would kill them and they would refuse to fight to live. They would just give up and die.

Some might, and then some might not. Depends on the person. Today, NO ONE has the right to know a person's medical information except the PERSON themselves, or their appointed Medical Power of Attorney, and/or choice of the patient. The Patient MUST know FIRST and THEY decide who knows their information. A good Dr will discuss this with his/her patient before any treatment is undertaken. DNR orders must come from the patient themself or from the appointed POWER of ATTORNEY holding a living will in their hands with the patients desires recorded. It is not easy to get a DNR order without plenty of documentation.

Should Mrs. Lee's son do what he did? It was his only recourse to be sure. Mrs. Lee needed to know her condition BEFORE it spread to her brain. After that, she was unreliable to make a decision. Dr and House Staff was accused of racism because Mrs. Lee needed to die and they knew it. Legally they had NO right to deny her the chance to live. ONLY SHE could have given her consent to her own death. Both the SON and the Dr's hands were tied to some degree. If Dr and SON agreed to allow her to die, then it would be different. But where there is a conflict, it will resort to what is legally binding.

Preparation is the most important tool for a Dr and patient to work on their future medical needs.