評論
打印
He spent an hour patiently answering our questions, but his prognosis was terrifying:
這位醫生花了一個小時耐心地回答我們的問題，但他的預后卻很可怕:
The tumor needed to be removed, and the operation would likely leave Pete blind in one eye and possibly without the ability to speak.
腫瘤需要被切除，而且手術可能會導致皮特一只眼睛失明，并可能失去說話的能力。
With Pete’s episodes of light-headedness occurring more frequently, the surgeon scheduled the surgery for the following week.
由于皮特頭暈的情況越來越頻繁，醫生將手術安排在下周進行。
What happened next can be described only as a stroke of luck.
接下來發生的事情只能被描述為一次意外的好運。
Pete and I reached out to the rabbi at our temple for comfort,
皮特和我向教堂里的拉比尋求安慰，
and she connected us with another congregant whose son had undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor a few years earlier.
她還把我們介紹給另一位教友，這位教友的兒子幾年前做了切除腦瘤的手術。
She encouraged us to get a second opinion from the neurosurgeon at Duke University Medical Center who had operated on her son.
她兒子的手術是杜克大學醫學中心的神經外科醫生做的，她鼓勵我們從那里尋求第二意見。
“He can do things other surgeons can’t,” she said.
“他能做其他外科醫生做不到的事情，”她說。
As a health reporter, I knew objectively that a second opinion could be valuable.
作為一名健康記者，我客觀地知道，第二意見可能很有價值。
A 2017 Mayo Clinic study found that one in five people who sought a second opinion went home with a completely new diagnosis.
2017年，梅奧診所的一項研究發現，五分之一尋求第二意見的人最終得到了全新的診斷。
Another 66 percent got new information or a revised diagnosis.
另有66%的人獲得了新的信息或修改了診斷。
A second opinion can also reveal different treatment options.
第二種意見也可能帶來不同的治療方案。
Yet surveys show that more than half of Americans don’t bother, even when faced with a major medical decision.
然而，調查顯示，超過一半的美國人即使面臨重大的醫療問題，也不會花費精力去這樣做。
As Pete and I debated what to do, I understood why.
當皮特和我爭論該怎么做時，我明白了原因。
Duke is a three-hour drive away, which seemed like a hassle. We liked the local surgeon.
杜克離這里有三個小時的車程，這似乎很麻煩。我們喜歡當地的外科醫生。
Most important, Pete couldn’t wait to get this thing out of his brain.
最重要的是，皮特迫不及待地想排除這個選擇。
But the woman from our temple insisted and even called Duke to get an appointment for us.
但我們教堂里的那個女人堅持要我們，甚至還打電話給公爵，為我們預約時間。
That appointment changed everything.
那次預約改變了一切。
