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” […]
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 […]
I love my job for many reasons. Some of the most important reasons are the people I work with. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago as I had a casual conversation with a couple nurses. It was just before noon. New patient clinic had just finished. I was in one of our […]
Gladys was a test pilot. Her flight plan helped her live almost a decade longer than what was expected based on her diagnosis. Here is her story: Gladys was diagnosed with a stage 3 endometrial cancer in 2007 at the age of sixty. Endometrial cancer is a cancer originating in the lining of the uterus. […]
I would like to share a story about a woman named Diana. I have known Diana since March of 2017. Diana has incurable pancreas cancer. The opportunity to have lengthy relationships with my pancreas cancer patients occurs infrequently. The sad fact of the matter with pancreas cancer is that it is often a quick killer. […]
I met a most wonderful eighty-nine-year-old woman last week. She came to see me for her newly diagnosed stage four rectal cancer. She is dying from her cancer. Her cancer is an unusual rectal cancer. The most common type of rectal cancer is called adenocarcinoma. This woman’s cancer was different and of neuroendocrine origin; neuroendocrine cancers […]
For two months in the spring of 2021, I was part of the care team involved in the treatment of a sixty-seven year old woman with a newly diagnosed squamous carcinoma of the anal canal. This woman’s cancer had not spread beyond her pelvis at the time of diagnosis. This was a good thing. My […]
“What’s yours will never pass you,” he whispered in a thick Scottish accent. My back was turned to him as I started walking out of his hospital room. His quiet words stopped me mid-step as if a force field had captured me in his deep thoughts. He was isolated in a private room for the […]
“Hello, my name is Jennifer Spratlin. I’m a chemotherapy doctor.” These are the two sentences I introduce myself with when I walk into a room to do my initial consultation with a new cancer patient. It seems like an appropriate introduction here too. I choose not to introduce myself as Dr. Spratlin in most instances […]
Join me, through the stories I tell, and see the hope, grit, grace, and love that can be found in a cancer journey.
