I know because my oncologist wanted to see where my tumor markers were at the first time I was seen, and so he had the notes from my first visit open and I looked over his shoulder to see what it said. The opening statement said I was a pleasant 46-year-old male with cancer.
The fact that this is in my medical record raises all sorts of questions that will likely never be answered,* but it's oddly comforting to have an official imprimatur on such an evaluation.
Of course, "pleasant" doesn't produce much of interest in a Google image search, so I went with "peasant." The peasant search was rather fascinating. You get a lot of medieval art, the odd Monty Python screen capture, and an absurd amount of scantily clad women. All I can figure is that "peasant" appears to be the preferred adjective to describe a lot of barely there clothing.
Odd to think that what was once a signifier of abject poverty eventually evolves into one of sexual desirability. But that's fashion for you, I guess.
Clearly, there's not much to keep your brain occupied when you're waiting for an infusion to begin...
* On what basis was this determination made? Does it have an impact on the treatment I receive? If I became unpleasant, would my medical record be updated? Etc., etc., etc.
I noticed the same thing in my medical record from when I had a c-section. I didn't feel particularly "pleasant" while they were cutting me open, but whatever. :)
ReplyDeleteDo you remember the Seinfeld episode where Elaine discovers that her doctor described her as "difficult"? No doctor would treat her for her rash. Much better to be described as pleasant.
ReplyDeleteWhy am I suddenly feeling like "pleasant" is a code for the billing department, schedulers and other administrative types?
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