Until recently, I was following an eighty-three-year-old man who has pancreas cancer. I don’t think he was ever in the road construction business, though I know he’s done his fair share of driving over the years. We had a lovely exchange about roads a few months back that I would like to share. Bill (not […]
I was finishing up a new patient clinic when I heard a difficult to hear sentence last week. It had been a long morning of meeting three new cancer patients. The first patient was the only one who still had a chance of cure. She was young, in her mid-fifties. She had recovered from a […]
I had a lovely visit with one of my octogenarian patients a few weeks ago. I’d like to tell you about our conversation. His words reinforced a simple, but deeply meaningful, concept. Mr. L just turned eighty-four. He was diagnosed with a localized mid-esophageal cancer in the fall of 2022. As his cancer was still […]
I would like to write about EP again this week while he is fresh in my mind. You may remember him from the story I wrote a few months ago entitled, “Addicted To Hope”. EP and I said goodbye this week. Our goodbye has me pondering the different ways we end up walking through life. […]
I would like to share a short story about how an innocent mistake brought much joy to my workplace. A few weeks ago, one of the patients I follow ended up in hospital. This patient was relatively new to me, though not new to the cancer care system. He had been followed by a colleague […]
One of my favorite patients over the years was named Elsie. She died in September from complications related to her metastatic colon cancer. She was lovely. So were her children. As the month of May closes, to honour Mother’s Day a few weeks ago, and to recognize what would have been a milestone birthday for […]
The most touching thing that happened to me at work over the last few weeks was a handshake. You might remember the patient that gave me this handshake. If not, you can read about him before or after you read this story. I wrote about him a few months ago in my “I Spoke Turtle” […]
Hello. This post will be a little different than most of my previous ones. I don’t have a patient story to share with you this time. I do, however, wish to share how the cancer diagnosis of a colleague affected me. I can tell you up front it was with heavy impact. “Can we go […]
I would like to tell you the tale of a patient who want to fire me but never got around to it. I think there are some good learning points in his story – for him, for me, maybe even for you. Instead of using his real name, I will call this patient Mr. B. […]
Getting to the finish line with a patient can mean many different things in my world. It could mean we have exhausted all standard of care treatment options and there is nothing left to try. It could mean the patient is nearing death. Every once and a while it means we have completed curative intent […]
Join me, through the stories I tell, and see the hope, grit, grace, and love that can be found in a cancer journey.
