Forgot To Ask The Doctor? Send In Your Question and Get an Answer

Have you gone to the doctor’s office recently for an appointment and realized, once you’ve left, that you forgot to ask the doctor an important question that you wanted to have him/her discuss with you?

That happens to nearly everyone at one time or another. Even though you’ve written out your list of questions, you get caught up in what the doctor is saying, or are concerned about not taking too much time, or just forget to look at the list once more to make sure you’ve covered all your questions before you go out the door.

Or perhaps you have a question but you don’t want to bother your doctor with it since you’re not seeing him/her for some time. You look for an answer on the internet but come away confused and frustrated.

Dr. Mary Maish of the Washington Township Medical Foundation and a member of the Washington Hospital Medical Staff has the answer for you: “Ask the Doctor,” a new column in The Tri-City Voice. Beginning next week readers can send their questions to Dr. Maish who will answer one or more questions each week in this new column.

Dr. Maish, who serves as chief of Thoracic and Foregut Surgery at Washington Township Medical Foundation and also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health, says: “If you are like me or many of my patients, as soon as you leave the doctor’s office, you think of a million questions you should have asked the doctor.

“As a patient, I sympathize with your forgetfulness and frustrations of having question about your health or that of your family members that did not get answered during the visit. As a physician, I appreciate your interest in better understanding your health and I welcome your questions.”

To start things off, here is a sample of types of questions Dr. Maish says she frequently is asked “while sitting on an airplane with total strangers who are eager ask an expert for medical information.”

How do you know if you should take antibiotics when you have a cold?

Is it true that operating causes the cancer to spread all over?

My aging parents have moved closer to us so that I can help orchestrate their medical care. It was recommended that I take them to see a geriatrician. Is this necessary?

In preparation for going back to school I had to take my kids to the pediatrician for a check-up and for the dreaded vaccine shots. I have heard that in California many children do not get vaccinated and that whooping cough is on the rise. Are my children at risk even though they are vaccinated?

Beginning next week, Dr. Maish will use the new Ask the Doctor column to answer reader’s health-related questions. Questions for Dr. Maish should be emailed to Ask the Doctor at: askthedoctor@whhs.com.