EURURO-9474; No.

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E UROP E AN U RO LO GY XXX (2 021) XXX– XXX

available at www.sciencedirect.com
journal homepage: www.europeanurology.com

Words of Wisdom

Re: If You Want to Make an Important Discovery, Listen

bed has given me insight into a part of medicine that I’d
to Your Patients
never experienced. . . . Can it make you a better doctor?
Walsh PC
. . . I believe I am.” Dr. Katz’s view [4] supports the fact that
Eur Urol 2017;72:482 a physician’s personal experience of disease enriches and
enhances their repertoire of knowledge and skills needed to
Expert’s summary:
improve patient care and direct scientific research in a
The contribution by Dr. Patrick C. Walsh [1] in European
further rewarding direction.
Urology addresses the issue of identifying important
In conclusion, expanding Dr Walsh’s statement that “No
problems that can lead to important discoveries. According
one knows more about certain aspects of a disease than the
to Dr. Walsh, patients who ask a question for which you have
patient who has it”, the expertise acquired by a physician-
no answer present an opportunity for discovery. He stated,
turned-patient broadens their understanding of certain
“Listen to your patients and they may lead you in a direction
aspects of a disease having experienced the disease as both
in which no one else is going” and affirmed that “no one
a physician and a patient. However, Dr. Katz “wouldn’t
knows more about certain aspects of a disease than the
recommend this as a way to become a better doctor, not in
patient who has it”.
the least” [4].
Expert’s comments:
It is true that patients can provide their physician with
Funding: This research received no specific grant from any
critical insight into important and sometimes underrated
funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit
problems related to a certain disease. It is equally true that a
sectors.
physician who has personally suffered a certain disease
brings a unique perspective that can shed new light on
patient care and disease processes. Conflicts of interest: The author has nothing to disclose.
Direct encounter with a disease from the viewpoint of
both patient and physician has a profound impact on the References
way a physician deals with a patient, thus helping the
[1] Walsh PC. If you want to make an important discovery, listen to your
patient in better: patients. Eur Urol 2017;72:482.
[2] Brown AEC, Garden R. From silence into language: questioning the
 Understanding not only the advantages but also the power of physician illness narratives. AMA J Ethics 2017;19:501–7.
limitations of certain findings from recently developed [3] Resnick MI. Getting through it all. J Urol 2007;178:9.
laboratory, pathology, molecular, and imaging tests, [4] McNamara D. Surprising lessons learned by a physician-turned-
including the implications of family history; patient. Medscape. November 15, 2016. www.medscape.com/
 Explaining certain findings and drawbacks during follow- viewarticle/871919.

up in relation to the type of treatment selected; and

 Appreciating the pivotal importance of continuous Rodolfo Montironi*
Section of Pathological Anatomy, Polytechnic University of the Marche
advances in the field of scientific research.
Region, School of Medicine, United Hospitals, Ancona, Italy

There is very scant literature on physicians’ narratives of
their own experiences and those of their family members of
cancer [2,3]. It is worth mentioning a Medscape contribu-
tion [4] related to what Dr. Philip Katz said during a lecture
at an American College of Gastroenterology Annual
Scientific Meeting: “My view from the other side of the
*Section of Pathological Anatomy, Polytechnic University of the Marche
Region, School of Medicine, United Hospitals, Via Conca 71, I-60126
Ancona, Italy.
E-mail address: r.montironi@univpm.it.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2021.07.021
0302-2838/© 2021 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.