Different kinds of healing: Elective surgery for quality of life

Question: My patient, a devout Catholic, is considering a risky radical abdominal surgery that can't cure her condition but may extend her life for a year. She says she's okay with either outcome, living longer or dying in the Operating Room. I believe she's sincere, even though her daughter feels she's being talked into the procedure by the surgeon. Now the daughter has asked me to tell her mother how horrible the surgery is and that most patients suffer greatly.

I'm sympathetic to her concerns because I've cared for several patients who underwent this surgery and none of them fully recovered. But it's not my place to explain the risks and benefits of surgery to the patient or to intrude on her relationship with her physician. How should I handle this? -S.N., Wisconsin


Answer by Joy Ufema, RN, MS:
This doesn't sound like a patient who's being coerced into doing something she doesn't want to do. Ironically, if she were to choose an intervention and died soon, the daughter could do a complete turnaround and worry that her mom gave up without pursuing all options.

Explain to the daughter that you can't discuss the odds for recovery because every patient is different. Instead, encourage her to talk with her mother in depth about her beliefs and goals. Offer to sit in on the conversation if they wish. Let the daughter hear her own mother discuss her position as a patient with a serious illness. Then support them both, regardless of the outcome.

Advice to family members who are patient advocates: Educate your loved one about the choices, then let them make the important decisions that affect their lives

Browse for related stories in the index at the very bottom of this page, or read an elective surgery story.

Thanks to Joy Ufema for the source article in the January issue of Nursing 2008.