When speaking to a mom, or any patient it is soooo important to realize
that HER personal experience is HERS - and our statistics do not reflect
her life...

In making presentations to a large audience of health care professionals,
it is essential that we provide population-based data and information. 
That is about the only thing they respect and understand as "worthy" of
listening to.  We must also be willing to change as research shows new and
better information, even though in our particular experience we did not see
this.

In facing a mom in her home or bedside, these statistics are meaningless. 
I just had a personal experience with a medical scare (fine now,
thanks!)... and the doctors would spout on and on about the "chances of
your having.... are1:50,000" or, as one MD told me "the last time we had a
woman of your age and smoking status with this condition was in 1926...ha
ha!"

I did NOT want to hear about the "chances"  I wanted to be assessed as an
individual and learn the results of those assessments!

Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, IBCLC
Vacaville, CA

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