COVID-19 and Cancer Misinformation: An Oncologist’s Viewpoint
As a medical oncologist, science denialism from my patients is all too familiar to me. Cancer misinformation is, unfortunately, endemic in our society. After 18 years as a cancer doctor, it sadly...
View ArticleA Tale of Two Patients: Female Body Image and Cancer Treatment
How body image and unhealthy societal ideals affect women undergoing cancer treatment “I want to stop this treatment.” These are not the words I’m expecting to hear from my patient. She has advanced...
View ArticleThe World Needs to Collectively Grieve: Acknowledging the Pandemic Losses
Many of us, if not all, learned in our medical training about the Kübler-Ross five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about grief...
View ArticleFight or Flight, or Something In-Between
On my way to work, I drive by an abundance of water — a bay that changes with the seasons’ moods. Some mornings, the wind whips up tall waves, and I grip my steering wheel against the gusts that shake...
View ArticleWe All Struggle With the Unwritten Rules of Medical Culture
There is a two-lane bridge in my town. It is quaint and picturesque, and when we first moved here, I would gaze out at the water as I drove, letting my mind wander along with the seagulls drifting...
View ArticleWhat It’s Like to Be a Cancer Physician in America
“We only want to hear positive information.” “Don’t tell him about his prognosis.” “We don’t want to hear any doom or gloom.” This is what it’s like to be a cancer physician in America. As a medical...
View ArticleA Good Doctor Must (A Poem)
Originally published on Medscape Blogs on June 8, 2022 Last week, after the multiple recent tragedies in our nation, I found myself turning to my laptop to write the feelings that were too big. But...
View Article2022 Roundup: Top 5 most read blog posts of 2022 — and my top 5 favorites
I haven’t done one of these year-end round-ups before, but given 2022 marked the five year anniversary of the blog, it seemed a good year to start. For each post, I’ve selected a favorite passage to...
View ArticleHow writing and storytelling helped me recover from burnout
About five years ago, I did the first public reading of my non-academic writing. I was a 40-something-year-old physician, and I was terrified. It was at a narrative medicine event, and I’d been...
View ArticleRolling boulders uphill: a reflection on rural oncology practice
Thank you to CLOSLER for allowing me to contribute my essay of a “day in the life” reflection on rural oncology practice. “With the broken healthcare system crumbling, rural outpatient pharmacies...
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