A Complaint against “Complaints”

Having just emerged, aged 82, from the Valley of the Shadow, thanks to a just-in-time-ly removal of a cancerous uterus, I am full of bright shiny ideas, most of which are probably worthless. But one, I'm convinced, is not. That is the need to expurgate the word “complaint” from the medical lexicon for defining reportage by elderly as well as other patients about their symptoms.

In this era of health maintenance organizations, with doctors even more hurried than before, and many patients even more cowed than before, the pejorative word “complaint” further discourages patients from spelling out for their doctor how they feel, especially after treatment when, say, mentioning an unexpected side effect implies criticism of the doctor. This reluctance, in turn, can deprive doctors of feedback that could be helpful in patient care.

At the risk of making myself appear like the Grinch and distinguished physicians at a major teaching hospital appear overly defensive, here is a case in point:

After my hysterectomy and node removal, the surgeon referred me to a radio-oncologist. I felt in no state for any further treatment, even after the standard maximum of 8 weeks for recovery. I told the surgeon that bowel and bladder were still mad as hornets, but he said that an internal exam showed my tissues to be healed.

After the first treatment, as the radio-oncologist was leaving the room, he called back, “I predict you will feel no side effects.” Half-kidding, I asked how accurate his predictions generally were. “Very,” he said.

Well, …