Iconic NBC journalist, former host of NBC Nightly News, and multiple myeloma survivor Tom Brokaw has some advice for people going through cancer. His biggest piece of wisdom is to stop seeing a doctor just because you like them, and make the tough calls when it comes to choosing the doctor who has the right skill set for the kind of treatment you need.
“I think that we have to change the mindset of a lot of patients. And get tough, frankly, about changing that mindset. I know you love your doctor, I know you think he’s a great guy, or she’s a great person,” Brokaw told SurvivorNet. “The fact is unless they’ve got the skill set, they can be a bastard, but if they’re good at what they’re doing, go to them!” he says. “That’s what you have to learn to do. You have to learn to go make a tough decision about something.”
But Brokaw also wants the medical community to make some real changes when it comes to making information available to people. “You know, in the medical community itself, there’s a heck of a lot of gossip about, ‘don’t go there, you know that guy is locked into the one way of treating you, and it’s not been very successful, so you don’t want to go there,” he says. “How come you’re telling me, how come you’re not telling the world that? How come you don’t have a place to go– if you want to buy a car, you can find out a heck of a lot more about an automobile than you can about a doctor who may have your life in his or her hands.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Iconic NBC journalist, former host of NBC Nightly News, and multiple myeloma survivor Tom Brokaw has some advice for people going through cancer. His biggest piece of wisdom is to stop seeing a doctor just because you like them, and make the tough calls when it comes to choosing the doctor who has the right skill set for the kind of treatment you need.
“I think that we have to change the mindset of a lot of patients. And get tough, frankly, about changing that mindset. I know you love your doctor, I know you think he’s a great guy, or she’s a great person,” Brokaw told SurvivorNet. “The fact is unless they’ve got the skill set, they can be a bastard, but if they’re good at what they’re doing, go to them!” he says. “That’s what you have to learn to do. You have to learn to go make a tough decision about something.”
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But Brokaw also wants the medical community to make some real changes when it comes to making information available to people. “You know, in the medical community itself, there’s a heck of a lot of gossip about, ‘don’t go there, you know that guy is locked into the one way of treating you, and it’s not been very successful, so you don’t want to go there,” he says. “How come you’re telling me, how come you’re not telling the world that? How come you don’t have a place to go– if you want to buy a car, you can find out a heck of a lot more about an automobile than you can about a doctor who may have your life in his or her hands.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
