May is AANHPI Heritage Month so it’s a good time to share again my journey from nonsmoker to lung cancer survivor. It is such an important issue to bring awareness to this little-known and potentially deadly health disparity because, according to…
Category: Oncology/Hematology
Why preventive care is the cure for our failing health care system
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” – Thomas Edison Mr. Edison, if he is watching over us, must be sadly…
Targeting cancer treatment for better outcomes [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! We welcome Kevin L. Schewe, a radiation oncologist, as we explore the evolution of cancer treatment from the perspective of someone who has witnessed groundbreaking advanc…
A simple poem, and a profound message: Exploring Wendy Cope’s The Orange
Wendy Cope is a poet of modern times. She was born in Erith, Kent. She spent fifteen years teaching primary school in London after graduating from college. She has published five collections of her poems: Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis in 1986, Serious…
Challenges of the past: a physician’s story
My friend is a young physician working in the same hospital as me. We have known each other since childhood. She lived next door to me until we both started high school when she moved to another locality in the same city, but we remained in touch. We s…
Should we teach business literacy to medical trainees?
Today is the day I live for as a hematology/oncology fellowship program director. There are balloons filled on stage, dinner buffet stations brewing in the back of the conference room, and fellows entering with their proud families in tow for the gradu…
Science supports it and patients want it: Bringing whole-person care to cancer treatment
Patients, as the primary stakeholders in their own well-being, are increasingly showing a profound interest in holistic approaches to cancer care that extend beyond traditional medical treatments. Growing evidence supports this interest, showing that s…
Navigating grief and stress: Embracing catharsis
Recently, a very young colleague of mine who worked in the same hospital as me passed away from sudden cardiac arrest. We were shocked and deeply saddened by his death. A few days later, I met a common friend of ours who told me that he was under a lot…
A Pakistani oncologist’s journey: Navigating commute challenges
I’ve always been afraid of driving. My home is quite far away from my hospital, and for the past eight years, I’ve been traveling via Uber for my daily commute. I don’t have a good memory of roads, lanes, and streets, even in my own c…
Finding joy beyond medicine: a tale of pet companionship
My question to all the health care workers is, “Have you ever kept pets or tried to keep them?” If the answer is “yes,” then you are indeed very lucky. I think there are only two sources that can bring utter joy to humans in thi…
