2019年7月13日星期六

Why Wouldn’t My Doctor Tell Me What Treatment to Get?

I feel let down by him.

View in Browser | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book.

Friday, July 12, 2019

NYTimes.com »

Why Wouldn't My Doctor Tell Me What Treatment to Get?

By KWAME ANTHONY APPIAH

Illustration by Tomi Um

I was recently given a diagnosis of prostate cancer by my urologist. During the consultation, I was told I have a Gleason score of 8, indicating an aggressive form of the cancer. I had been going to this doctor for years and felt I had a good rapport with him. On the day of the diagnosis, I asked him for advice on which of the two courses of action he offered — surgery or radiation — I should take. His response was, "You have to do your research and decide yourself." I tried to reassure him by saying, "I realize no option is 100 percent guaranteed, and you must have had at least dozens of other patients during your career with a similar condition," but got the same result with the add-on "Be glad it's not brain or pancreatic cancer — they are always fatal."

I have had the feeling since that he let me down; I had no knowledge about anything regarding prostate cancer, and from that day until my treatment my anxiety and stress were highly elevated.

My treatment for the cancer has so far been successful. But am I wrong to feel let down in my hour of need, or is this a common strategy to prevent a future lawsuit in this litigious society? Name withheld

Read the Ethicist's reply here.

The Dangerous Art of Pyotr Pavlensky

Nadav Kander for The New York Times

By FERNANDA EBERSTADT

His spectacular acts of self-mutilation and vandalism have landed him in jail in both Russia and France — and blurred the lines among art, protest and crime.

Letter of Recommendation: Bird Feeders

David La Spina for The New York Times

By DAVID MICHAEL

A simple cure for solipsism.

My Summer Jam: An Update of the French Fruit Tart

Bobby Doherty for The New York Times

By DORIE GREENSPAN

This strawberry version is all pleasure, no pretense.

Robin Schwartz for The New York Times

Feature

Zoos Called It a 'Rescue.' But Are the Elephants Really Better Off?

By CHARLES SIEBERT

Despite mounting evidence that elephants find captivity torturous, some American zoos still acquire them from Africa — aided by a tall tale about why they needed to leave home.

Illustration by Giacomo Gambineri

Feature

The Great Race to Rule Streaming TV

By JONAH WEINER

In their rush to match Netflix, competitors like HBO, Hulu and Amazon are ordering a slew of content — ushering out the age of "prestige TV" and ushering in an age of anything goes.

Photo illustration by Najeebah Al-Ghadban. Source photographs from Getty Images.

Screenland

A Crime Scene at the Border

By TEJU COLE

Images of brutality should do more than provide a quick emotional fix. They should indict the viewer.

Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times

Talk

Whoopi Goldberg on Controversy and Conversation

By DAVID MARCHESE

'It's only been in the last few years that people seem to have stopped listening to one another.'

Stay in touch:

Appreciated this email? Forward it to a friend and help us grow.

Loved a story? Hated it? Write us a letter at magazine@nytimes.com.

Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up here to get the magazine newsletter.

Check us out on Instagram, where you'll find photography from our archives, behind-the-scenes snippets from photo shoots, interviews on how we design our covers and outtakes that don't make it into the issue.

We've got more newsletters! You might like At War.

Learn more about the experiences and costs of war. Sign up for the At War newsletter to receive stories about conflict from Times reporters and outside voices.