Hard Questions

Hard Questions

Presence

We met in the hospital, but I was adamant to “keep” you as my patient when you got to the clinic. I made swaps to see you, to get the continuity I...

Hard Questions

‘How did I get cancer?’

My answers do not always satisfy their questions. Because it’s not a question seeking an informational answer. The truth is, medically and...

Hard Questions

Snapshots of an oncologist

You teach about this disease in your classes and never thought it would happen to you. It started simply enough – you were bruising. Your joints...

Hard Questions

Illusion of options

Advances have exploded; it’s an exciting time to be learning and practicing. And yet, we are still gently holding hands and saying that we have no...

Hard Questions

Dear Marisol

I know you don’t remember me. We met when you were just a baby. Now that you’re older, I want to tell you a story about your mom you may not know...

Hard Questions

Doctor, will you please lie to me?

Looking for hope in the face of terrible news is a common reaction. It’s natural. We tend to be optimists, and we look for a silver lining. We...

Hard Questions

Charity case

I deliver a lot of bad news in oncology, but I usually get to blame the disease. What I hate perhaps even more is the other type of bad news: We...

Hard Questions

Aftermath

It was Marty who showed me, early in my career, what happens after leukemia. I frequently see related issues in my patients now, and I credit...

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