In the world of medicine, we often encounter the term “defensive” used in various contexts – from patient interactions to professional evaluations. However, it’s crucial to reevaluate our understanding of this term and its implication…
Category: Conditions
From devastation to inspiration: my journey through three cancers
A solid mass silently grew on my kidney. An unwelcome addition. Asymptomatic. Discovered haphazardly during a CT scan of my lungs … And it revealed itself. At first, I was devastated. Will cancer ever leave me alone? It has already visited me twi…
Conquering childhood trauma: the power of EMDR therapy
I sat at my desk in my 6th-grade classroom, my anxiety mounting. I counted down the minutes until the big hand on the clock above the chalkboard finally reached noon. As my classmates emptied out of the room, headed to the cafeteria for lunch, my palms…
Conquering childhood trauma: the power of EMDR therapy
I sat at my desk in my 6th-grade classroom, my anxiety mounting. I counted down the minutes until the big hand on the clock above the chalkboard finally reached noon. As my classmates emptied out of the room, headed to the cafeteria for lunch, my palms…
Collaboration between local oncologists and academia is crucial to closing the cancer care gap
There is undeniable hope and optimism when looking at the future of cancer care. Cancer survival rates are steadily rising as oncologists continue to learn more about the 100+ unique types of cancer—and emerging variants—that exist. Thanks to new targe…
Healing the mind and body
An excerpt from The Healing Book. When Allie’s canoe tapped the dock in Iquitos, Peru, she didn’t know which was greater: her exhaustion or her anticipation. After hours on the Amazon River, she was sticky with sweat, and her arms and legs …
My battle with atrial fibrillation
A while ago, I wrote about my experience during an attack of atrial fibrillation (afib), lamenting the fact that my management never included a proper physical exam. Nevertheless, chemical cardioversion was successful, and my hospital stay was brief. T…
Revolutionizing health care: Rethinking burnout and resilience
I read all the time about the strategies and measures physicians and other health care professionals take to mitigate, reduce, or immunize themselves against burnout, moral distress, and empathic strain. We have been talking about this for decades, wit…
Debunking sensational euthanasia myths in the Netherlands
While surfing cellphone news headlines, my attention was caught by one from the New York Post that blared: “Dutch are Euthanizing Autistic People.” The Post aims for sensationalism, and the headline implied mass slaughter, akin to the Nazi …
What should you do if your child is diagnosed with bronchiolitis this cold and flu season?
The cold and flu season is already causing a surge of viral infections among children in doctors’ offices and emergency rooms. Health care providers are urging parents to brace themselves for what’s expected to be another season of COVID-19, infl…
