Filling a Void
Most of us recognize the challenges healthcare institutions face in balancing budgets in a time of escalating costs. So, how do hospital administrators decide what projects or services should be funded...
View ArticlePatient Resource Consultant
In digging through files, I discovered a job description of my first position in the world of cancer care. Memories flooded in, including how I initially refused to accept the job. Let me tell you how...
View ArticleWith Great Difficulty or More Fully
A few days ago, I came across a folder on my computer that contained a New York Times article (June 30, 2016) titled “At the End of Life, What Would Doctors Do?” by palliative care physician Dr. Ira...
View ArticleA Tough Subject
Who among us likes to talk about dying? In a recent blog “Taking Silence for Comprehension,” I talked about how patients may not understand the risks and benefits of treatment options and quality of...
View ArticleIt’s Not Going To Hurt
Almost 20 years ago four cancer patients were interviewed for the Voices from the Lived World of Illness video, which we produced at the Center for Communication in Medicine. Sitting side by side, the...
View ArticleNo Man’s Land
I recall a patient’s husband recounting what his wife’s oncologist said when her cancer progressed and was no longer curable. The doctor told her to adjust her outlook “to living with cancer rather...
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Writing is Good Medicine™ continues
Over the years I’ve facilitated Writing is Good Medicine programs at the cancer center in Bennington, community workshops and conferences. More recently, due to safety concerns with COVID, online...
View ArticleWhat’s Unsaid
“I am pleased to inform you that your manuscript ‘Art Informs Medicine’ has been accepted for publication in the Art of Oncology section,” the editor noted. I was well aware that this meant that my...
View ArticleWho Am I Doing This For?
In the video that accompanies SpeakSooner: A Patient’s Guide to Difficult Conversations, we hear Fritz acknowledge that the rewards of continuing treatment more than exceed the risks but he recognizes...
View ArticleWe’re All Confused
There are no rules for proper behavior, conversation or actions when there’s an advancement of a serious illness and no viable treatment options. Patients can find themselves confused when trying to...
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