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Doctor said you don’t have long to live? He’s probably wrong

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If the doctor has told you that you don’t have long to live, take the prognosis with a pinch of salt—they’re wrong half the time, a new study has discovered.

Researchers have discovered that half the patients who were given six months to a year to live confounded their doctors’ expectations.  A 10-year study reviewed the outcomes of 6,495 people who had been given a gloomy prognosis by a doctor or nurse—and 3,516 of them were still alive more than a year later.

Paddy Stone, emeritus professor of palliative and end of life care at University College London, surveyed more than 25,000 clinicians and discovered that their prognosis of impending death was wrong 54 percent of the time.

Although the research was published in 2017, it’s been highlighted in the UK as legislation that allows terminally ill patients to seek medical assistance to end their lives is being discussed in Parliament.

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References
Telegraph, October 16,2024
Article Topics: doctors
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