Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You have him see a specialist as soon as possible.
This is the real-life decision made by podiatrist Dr. Pamela Hopper.
Recently, she faced such a situation. She wasn't sure what the man's
lesion was, but suspected it could be a melanoma. She hadn't seen many,
but she didn't take a chance by waiting.
"The consequence of me leaving him means that he could have lost his foot,
if he's got this cancerous growth in his foot," Hopper says.
The man said he had just noticed it, but Hopper was sure he'd had
the lesion for some time. It was a Friday, and she got him in to see a plastic
surgeon the next morning. The man with the lesion was in luck.
"It wasn't a malignant tumor. It was something else that mimicked
a malignant tumor," Hopper says. "One could say you've wasted this doctor's
time, but I didn't look at it that way. I looked at it as I saved his
life."
Hopper took the cautious route because she was unsure. Her top priority
was her patient's health.
Podiatrists who act quickly on their concerns and make their patient's
well-being their top priority are well respected. People feel
comfortable putting feet in their hands.