An excerpt from From Whispers to Shouts: The Ways We Talk About Cancer. “Walt, is that you?” Skyler asks her husband in the final scene of the Breaking Bad pilot. They’re in bed, she’s pregnant, and he’s come toward her in…
Category: Oncology/Hematology
The beauty of a patient’s gratitude
This is not an ordinary 1000 Rupee note. It’s a happy memory for me. For those who say I always share depressing stories, this one is for you, for a change. We performed concurrent chemotherapy and radiation on a 70-year-old lady with nasopharyng…
The heart of a Desi doctor: Balancing emotions and resources in oncology
I am a Desi doctor, where Desi refers to someone from India, Pakistan, or Bangladesh. I am currently a final-year resident in radiation oncology at a private-sector hospital in Pakistan. During my medical school and house job, I worked in a public sect…
5 essential tips to help men prevent prostate cancer
1. Eat a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Eating a healthy diet is an important way to help prevent prostate cancer. Fruits and vegetables are packed with antioxidants, which can help protect your cells from damage that can le…
Finding peace through surrender: a personal exploration
Words are everything. They carry energy. They are the currency of our connection to each other. They are the currency through which we will share with future generations; they are how we communicate with people in generations past. And they carry weigh…
The patient who became my soulmate
As oncologists, we encounter numerous patients on a daily basis and form emotional bonds with many of them, especially if they survive long enough and continue to see the same doctor for several years. This bond can grow so deep that we feel their pain…
From cancer survivor to thriving mind: a journey to true healing and purpose
“I own the world!” was my exact thought when my doctors entered my bone-marrow transplant unit and said I was cancer-free! That joyous moment lasted a few seconds because they immediately declared, “Be careful, you have a 30 percent c…
Biosimilars have saved patients billions of dollars and are changing the treatment landscape. Here’s how.
This article is sponsored by Sandoz, a Novartis division, and global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. When I started working in the health care industry over 25 years ago, I was compelled by a passion to make a difference and improve …
The regret of leaving an old friend behind
I once knew a lady who eventually died from pancreatic cancer. She was in her early seventies at the time. Her name was Marilyn, and I went to grade school with her son Tom, so we had known each other for a long time. I was in my early thirties when th…
Can personalized medicine live up to its hype in health care?
The genius of Henry Ford was in his perfection of mass production. Ford’s assembly lines produced oodles of Model T, with economies of scale so that the cost of each car fell to the point that even those working in those lines could afford them. …
