I would like to share six lessons that I learned from my dad. Parents have a big responsibility in bringing up the next generation. Our kids learn from watching what we do more than hearing what we say. So doing what’s right pays dividends with our kid…
Words have meaning. And when it comes to cancer, especially advanced cancer, there aren’t many words that have more meaning than the word “cure.” It is that very word and concept that is top of mind for some of us these days. We clinicians are guilty a…
Every day I receive all kinds of emails and other ads telling me about services offering me help to meet MIPS quality metrics. While they may be helpful, most doctors don’t see the need for such a program. It drives up costs in administering and time i…
Whenever I tell people outside of medicine how bad doctors are with money, they are always shocked. Almost universally, they wonder why we don’t save enough money. They understand that – to become a doctor – you must be hardworking, intelligent, and …
The common practice in this country (although not everywhere — Europe, for example) has long been to treat all acute middle ear infections (otitis media) with antibiotics. This is not necessarily needed. We now know that for many children another…
Every week there is another health pronouncement saying what is now good for you and what is going to kill you. Unfortunately, the “what” is often interchangeable — what was supposed to kill you last week is now suddenly good for you or vice vers…
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 62-year-old woman is evaluated during a follow-up visit for recently diagnosed stage IIIA high-grade serous ovarian cancer. She underwent t…
A patient walks into the doctor’s office and says: I hate feeling this way. Yes, I know it’s not cancer and it won’t kill me, but this shaking has made me a different person. I can’t sign my name. I drop and spill things all the time. I’m afraid …
An excerpt from In Two Voices: A Patient and a Neurosurgeon Tell Their Story. Linda, the patient, writes: Years later a compassionate optometrist acknowledges my eye pain and frequent headaches. I try different lenses, various prescriptions. When they …
Long-time “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek announced in March that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Within days, he offered thanks to “the hundreds of thousands of people who have sent emails, texts, tweets, and cards wishing me well r…
