The couple that entered my office on a warm fall day seemed out of sorts. She looked nervous, and he looked irritated. Before he sat down I heard why he felt that way: “I don’t even know why we’re here.“ I explained briefly what my role is but this did…
Category: Oncology/Hematology
Sexual recovery after cancer treatment
The couple that entered my office on a warm fall day seemed out of sorts. She looked nervous, and he looked irritated. Before he sat down I heard why he felt that way: “I don’t even know why we’re here.“ I explained briefly what my role is but this did…
The irrational exuberance of early cancer detection
Here’s some good news for a change about cancer: Cancer mortality — the rate of death from cancer — has fallen substantially over the last four decades. There is also, however, some not-so-good news: Cancer incidence — the rate of cancer diagnoses — ha…
We don’t just have cancer. We have a whole life to live.
When asking about a potentially overwhelming side-effect of an impending new medication, my nurse told me, “Don’t worry until you get there.” OK, I get it. I just didn’t die from breast cancer. I’ve had worse. But come on….
The surgeon who underwent surgery: How being a patient changed him
I lay on my side while my father probed the space between my buttocks, looking for an opening in the incision. I was in bed in the guest room of my house, which had been converted into my room for the last two weeks while I recovered. My father, a surg…
Cancer patients who want to take unproven supplements
One of the most important things we do as physicians is to empower our patients with the knowledge we have so that they can make informed decisions about their care. In oncology, patients also benefit from educating themselves about ways they can try t…