Specialty Area: Hematology
Description of Specialty: Hematology is the area of medicine concerning diseases of the
blood. See Oncology for other diseases of the blood.
1. Diagnosis: Anemia
Questions that should be asked:
- What is anemia?
- Is there more than one kind of anemia?
- What kind do I have?
- What is the significance of my kind of anemia?
- How did you discover that I am anemic?
- What can I do about it?
- Is it fatal?
- Does the anemia indicate anything else going on?
- Why do I have it?
- What did I do wrong to get it?
- Do I have to have additional tests to indicate the cause?
- Will they hurt?
- How is anemia treated?
- How is my kind if anemia treated?
- Will the treatment work?
- What if it doesn't work?
- Is anemia hereditary?
- Do I need to inform my children because they could develop anemia?
- How could they prevent it?
- Is there a condition where one can have "too much blood"?
Robert Mendelsohn, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine-Retired
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO