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As we have just seen, denial is a psychological coping mechanism which gives you a specious sense of well-being when you're confronted with actual symptoms, whether acute or persistent. But there's a cousin of denial which can also put your health in jeopardy. It comes into play when you have no symptoms and feel just fine. I call it "risk blindness." Let's say your father died of heart disease in his fifties. You are approaching the Big Five-Oh. You've put on a few pounds since you were at your fighting weight in college, and your desk job is so demanding that there's no time to go to the gym. You know you should quit smoking, but you can't concentrate on those piles of paperwork without puffing away. All of this adds up to a heart attack waiting to happen, but you don't think it can happen to you. You're not alone. That sense of being invincible is just about universal, and it's good, in that it keeps us from being chronic worrywarts. We get up every morning and go about our business feeling pretty darn sure we're not going to come down with a horrible illness or get hit by lightning or slip and break a leg. However, the innate panic protection turns against you when you have good reason to expect you might succumb to any given disease, but you ignore that probability and go on pushing your luck.

A perfect example of risk blindness is the case of TV talk show host Regis Philbin. Speaking to a reporter for Reader's Digest, he said: "The first time I felt chest pains was early in 1993. They would come and go, so like an idiot I never went to a doctor. My father died in his mid-sixties of heart disease, but I thought it couldn't happen to me." Regis, who was fifty-nine in 1993, went on to describe a subsequent heart attack and angioplasty, and mentioned the fact that his cholesterol level remained at a precariously high 300. Then he talked about the day he had his second attack. "I was scheduled to do a high-wire act with the circus that was in town, and I went ahead with the stunt. I know it was crazy. The minute I got down off the wire, I said to Gelman, my producer, 'Drive me to the hospital.'" Regis went on to say they did an atherectomy, a "Roto-Rooter" to break up the clog, and added: "Then I got really serious about my diet and exercise.. . . I tell people that even with the medication, I have to work out and eat right. And to cope with stress, I listen to Dean Martin. Dealing with Kathie Lee and Gelman every day, I have to have a way to calm myself down! It must be working because it's been over five years since the last heart scare and I've never felt better."

Regis got not one but two extra chances to save his own life. However, if you suspect you have any risk factors for a disease, particularly a family history, don't gamble. Ask your doctor to go over your health profile with you while you're still feeling great, and then do everything you can to outsmart your genes.

How Your Health Radar Can Work for Those You Love

Until now, we've been talking about how to tap into your instincts about your own health. But you know deep inside that you have a sixth sense about your family's health as well. If the baby's crying sounds different and distressing, trust your fears and call the doctor. If your wife or husband has chest pains and the emergency room personnel say it's nothing, don't accept that conclusion if your gut says it's the wrong diagnosis. I testified for the prosecution in a malpractice case like this in which a man had subsequently died. At the deposition the wife said she didn't argue or get a second opinion because she thought the doctor knew better than she did. I couldn't help but flinch when I heard that. Talk about suffering from the White Coat Syndrome! Respect for authority and expertise is one thing, but to place all the accountability for decision making in the doctor's hands is a terrifying prospect. Doctors are only human. Doctors are often overburdened. Doctors can be sleep-deprived. Blind faith in everything a doctor says about the condition of those you love amounts to abdicating all responsibility for their welfare. You don't want that and neither does your doctor. So let yourself believe that you almost always know best when it comes to your children, your spouse, your aging parents, anyone close to you. Then act on their behalf when you feel they're not getting the attention they need - or for that matter, when you feel they are being given too many tests or too much medication. Have the courage to ask questions when your instincts tell you something may not be right.

As an ancient proverb puts it, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Congratulations. You have taken the first step in the journey toward saving your own life. You now know that your doctor needs your expertise as much as you need hers. You also know that you, and only you, can say where it hurts and how much and when. Most important, you know that without your input, your doctor will have a much tougher time figuring out why it hurts.

You're ready to take the next step. It is at the very core of my philosophy and my plan for teaching you how to save your own life. This key step moves out of the realm of introspection and into the concrete world of your medical records. When you finish Step 2, you will have in your own hands the history of your health - and with it, the power to protect yourself from clerical or computer errors, prevent misdiagnoses, and make certain that everyone involved in your care is fully informed. That kind of power, in an era of ever-increasing depersonalization and fragmentation in our health care system, is nothing short of revolutionary. Follow me …

Copyright © 2000 by Marie Savard

Tags: Health

About the Author

MARIE SAVARD, M.D., is an internationally known internist, women's health expert, and patients' rights champion. She is the creator of The Savard Health Record. Dr. Savard is also a medical writer and seminar provider who has lectured throughout the world on the principle of taking charge. She serves as medical director of the Cabrini Nursing Home. Her past highlights include: Director of the Center for Women's Health and associate professor at the Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hahnemann University; World Health Organization's technical advisor to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing); Women's Day magazine “Your Health” columnist; Philadelphia Magazine “Top Doctor” since the 1980s and a host of the popular radio show Medical Frontiers.

About the Author

Sondra Forsyth is a 1999 recipient of a National Magazine Award for an article on colon cancer, as well as the winner of an award from the American Digestive Health Foundation. Ms. Forsyth has served as executive editor of Ladies' Home Journal, and is the author or co-author of seven books. She has written extensively about health and medicine as well as other topics for the major magazines.