Should I Ask About My Prognosis?

A prognosis is a doctor's best estimate about a patient's life expectancy.

Whether to ask for a prognosis is up to you. There is no right or wrong answer to the question whether to ask for a prognosis.

Before asking:

• Keep in mind that a prognosis is only a guess unless you are at an end stage of life. Any prediction is at best a statistically grounded estimate based on existing variables and the current state of ever-changing medical knowledge and treatment.
• What happens to others is not necessarily what happens to any individual. In fact, there is no way to predict what will happen to any particular person.
• At least one person survives every illness, and that person could just as well be you as somebody else.
• Think about why you are asking. For instance, if it is to help refine your investment strategy, a prognosis can be helpful. If it is to decide whether to blow all your money if you have a short term prognosis, it is not a good idea. As noted, unless you are at an end stage, a prognosis is only a guess and not necessarily indicative of what will happen to you.

If you do ask:

• Rather than ask "How long do I have?", consider asking a more general question such as: "What is the shortest and what is the longest that I can reasonably expect?"
• If you are doing planning based on the answer, consider asking the question again periodically. You can ask something like: "Has anything happened that would change the time frame I can reasonably expect?"
• When something new arises, consider asking whether it changes what you can expect.