Category: Oncology/Hematology

Why would adult children disapprove of their parent’s happiness?

Going through the process of diagnosis, treatment decision making, and often lengthy treatment without a partner can be challenging. While children, friends, and other family members are supportive, for the single individual, there is no one to talk to…

Death through the eyes of a medical student

Growing up, I was discouraged from becoming a doctor; I was too emotional. My mother, a geriatrician, worried about my attachment to patients and the volatility of inpatient medicine. To some degree, I understood her concerns; I’m tearful during goodby…

MKSAP: 28-year-old woman with decreased exercise tolerance and ice cravings

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 28-year-old woman is evaluated for decreased exercise tolerance and ice cravings for the past several weeks. Medical history is notable for…

AI in medicine: Separate hype from reality

As a physician trying to keep up with all the new information about artificial intelligence, I want to know how machine learning and deep learning are impacting medicine now and to separate the hype from reality. Here’s a look at some ways AI is …

Medical breakthrough headlines are over the top

Patients should have as much access to information as possible. The more they know — the more informed decisions about their health and life that can be made. However, faulty headlines about new therapies are infiltrating news outlets left and right. M…

Why didn’t your doctors tell you the truth?

Here’s what they should have told you: “We found cancer in your lymph nodes, your liver, your lungs, and your brain. It explains your weight loss, your difficulty breathing and your loss of appetite. This wasn’t just your depression l…

Cancerversary: The most wonderful term you wish you’d never heard

My husband recently planned a beautiful evening for me at our favorite restaurant, complete with a night away at a boutique hotel in wine country, in honor of my “cancerversary,” which for me marked one year since being diagnosed with breast cancer at …

How can we fix the research bias from industry sponsorship?

Late last year the New York Times reported that Dr. José Baselga, the chief medical officer of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, had resigned for failing to disclose his conflicts of interest at professional meetings and in scientific and medical…

Tucked in: an image that gives a sense of peace

I need to see Justin before my workday commences. I’m a social worker at the outpatient cancer center where Justin has been treated for an aggressive colon cancer. Seeing him today means visiting him in the hospital, up the road from the center. …

5 things you may not know about cancer risk

There is still a lot we don’t know about cancer. A diagnosis or even the thought of a future diagnosis can be scary. And what about your cancer risk? Many patients ask me “If a close family member has cancer, does that mean I will too?” Through heredit…