I met a new patient for a few brief moments last week. She had an impact on me that has and will extend far past the limits of our doctor-patient relationship. I will try to explain how and why. Kelly’s (pseudonym) first appointment with medical oncology was in a resident’s longitudinal clinic. I supervise this […]
I sit across from my patients and have the privilege of witnessing moments in their lives that are hard to explain. I see moments of joy and of despair. I see moments of disbelief and of acceptance. With AG, I saw a moment of reckoning. It was fascinating to me. I met AG in December […]
If I were to say I had a stoic patient, what would come to mind? Would you think she/he/they were brave? Would you imagine someone who was calm under pressure? Would your brain make you think this person was a master at avoiding emotional extremes? If so inclined, come up with answers to these questions. […]
The medical oncologists at my centre take turns each week being on what we call “triage”. When we triage, we take calls from other care providers about patients who have a cancer diagnosis, or presumed diagnosis, but who do not yet have a medical oncologist in charge of their cancer care. Some of the questions […]
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 […]
In the spring, I took over the cancer care of a patient from a colleague of mine who “retired”. I write retired in quotation marks because his departure was not a traditional retirement. He left because he was burned out. He was only a few years older than me. He probably had a good fifteen […]
Mr. JC died from metastatic colon cancer a few months ago. He was only forty-four years old. The day he died, his wife lost her husband, and his dog lost his best friend. We shared pictures of our dogs many times. The photo posted with JC’s obituary was a lovely one of JC with Sarg […]
It is Friday night as I write this. For most of the last few workdays, I have been preparing for my clinic scheduled for Tuesday September 6. I typically do this work on Monday prior to my full day Tuesday clinic. This week, Monday is a statutory holiday so I will be off enjoying the […]
The ability to communicate is a miracle that allows connection with others. Communication comes in many forms. I learned this again over the last few weeks from a patient and from a sea turtle. I realize this sounds strange. Let me explain. I met Mr. DJ last week. He came to see me for his […]
Every once and a while I am able to give one of my patients a much more meaningful prescription than the cancer drugs I can provide them. I was able to do this with CS. She had a big impact on me. At the age of fifty-two, CS was diagnosed with stage four adenocarcinoma of […]
Join me, through the stories I tell, and see the hope, grit, grace, and love that can be found in a cancer journey.
