mementomori

Farewell! a long farewell, to all my greatness! This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth The tender leaves of hopes; to-morrow blossoms, And bears his blushing honours thick upon him; The third day comes a frost, a killing frost, And, when he thinks, good easy man, full surely His greatness…

Dr. Scott Berry, a medical oncologist at the University of Toronto, has written an interesting essay in this month's Journal of Clinical Oncology entitled "Just Say Die." His point is that doctors are hesitant to use the words "die" or "death" when counselling patients who are in the process of…

If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time-a tremendous whack. -Winston Churchill Point number one: "Work-related stress can kill, study finds" Point number one again: "…

The New York Times has a story published last Friday about American men traveling to Mexico to receive a treatment for prostate cancer that is not approved in the United States. The article implies that this treatment is an unproven entity and may be unethical. I'm not so certain about this, so…

When used deftly, words can be incisive tools of communication. Finding the best word to describe an emotion or idea tumbling around inside of one's brain should be an exciting and rewarding experience. Such mental exercises keep one's wits sharp while relaying information in a vivid, often…

The following is a hypothetical advertisement seen on a community sign, let's say by a bus stop. ARE YOU EXPERIENCING ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS? *chest pain, pressure, discomfort, tightness or squeezing, with or without nausea / sweating *inability to breathe *loss of consciousness *worst headache of…

"You should think it over - you'd feel so much better if you took a transfusion." My patient lay in her hospital bed, head at the proper thirty degrees of comfort, staring at some private point on the wall across the room. Her anemia had worsened and I couldn't tell if it was from the effects of…

"Obesity now a 'lifestyle' choice for Americans, expert says" "Waistline grows along with economy" "Wealth and Waistlines - A new book explains how the obesity epidemic has been shaped by economics, and what we can do to reverse the trend" The Fattening of America, by Eric A. Finkelstein and Laurie…

That last post was my 300th since I joined the ScienceBlogs community in August of 2006. I usually don't comment about my personal life but I must confess to a certain feeling of satisfaction on reaching the 300 mark, as I never thought I'd last this long. Since creating my alter ego over three…

A study from Duke University reveals that oncologists who hear an expression of emotional concern from their patients respond with an empathic statement only 22% of the time. In other words, patients who share feelings of distress such as anger, discouragement or fear with their doctors are likely…

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." Most all of us like to receive sound medical advice, even if we have no intention of following it. Perhaps this is why some experts relay information in a style reminiscent of filling the lifeboats of the Titanic. By trumpeting alarums for diseases…

If you are an athlete or are just committed to exercising regularly, no matter what your age is, what do you do if your doctor tells you to stop it? I'll give you three possible responses: 1. "You're the doctor - if you say to stop running I'll stop." 2. "How do you know that this is the right…

A new study from Johns Hopkins shows that by sampling oral tissue from patients with a history of head and neck cancer doctors can predict with some accuracy the presence of a recurrence or of another primary tumor (presumably from the oropharynx). I found a couple of things about this report…

"What Is Assertiveness?: Assertiveness is the ability to express one's feelings and assert one's rights while respecting the feelings and rights of others. Assertive communication is appropriately direct, open and honest, and clarifies one's needs to the other person." "What Are the Benefits of…

In addition to heart disease, hypertension, cancer and diabetes, obesity has been linked to sleep apnea, job absenteeism, bad breath, even isolated findings such as an increased risk of dying from prostate cancer after definitive treatment. Wouldn't most of us agree that it is in our best health…

I've been trying to think of some New Year's Resolutions that are germane to living in our modern world (this is just a polite way of saying "Grow up! You can't spend your entire life living like you did when your were fifteen"). Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed being a teenager, but am even…

"It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour." - Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol Dear Friends, Whether you live in good health or poor, may you…

"7 Medical Myths Even Doctors Believe" Uh oh...I hate it when they raise serious questions about the strength of my medical training. Go ahead and give me the list and I'll confess as to whether or not I fell for these myths; if fact, how do I know that I'm not in the right? Aren't doctors known…

Here's more discouraging news about the consequences of living without health insurance: Uninsured cancer patients are nearly twice as likely to die within five years as those with private coverage, according to the first national study of its kind and one that sheds light on troubling health care…

"Drinking green tea may fight prostate cancer" To: MSNBC Chief Editor Re: Headline writers Dear Sir: It has come to our attention that many of your readers are misinterpreting the headlines of news stories you post on MSNBC. We bring this to your attention in order to forestall any unfortunate…

Death rates from cancer continue to fall in the United States, dropping more than 2 percent per year from 2002 through 2004, cancer experts reported on Monday. They found important declines in deaths from lung, prostate and colorectal cancers in men, as well as in breast and colon cancer among…

[Editor's Note: on Friday the narrator lost his little self-esteem-raising med quiz, which apparently was written on the back of a receipt from Rutto's Trattoria. This afternoon he called from an undisclosed location and apologized for the mishap, but was only able to recall a smattering of the…

'Tis the time of year to bring tidings of joy and celebrate Homo sapien-kind's (formerly known as mankind's) spirit of generosity. Not being one to scoff at this equitable terpsichore of self-esteem, we here at the Cheerful Oncologist have a quiz of medical knowledge guaranteed to raise the…

Beginning Jan. 1, Medicare will reimburse only $16,000 of the $30,000 total cost for hospitals to acquire and administer each treatment of radioimmunotherapy drugs. Currently, only two drugs -- Bexxar and Zevalin -- fall under this class of therapy. What on earth is going on here? Why would our…

It was a pleasure meeting you today. I truly enjoyed our time together and wish I could have stayed longer. Please pardon my forwardness, but I want to brag a bit about you. When I walked into your home I was struck at how tall you stand - do you know you move without hesitation, as one who knows…

"Let's see - what should I do today...YouTube? IPod? Watch a DVD? Surf the 'net? Watch a little television? Uh, what was I thinking? Oh, who cares - I hate my life anyway." A lack of physical activity leads to depression and dementia, evidence presented at the British Nutrition Foundation…

As part of our ongoing commitment to the environment we here at The Cheerful Oncologist have decided to implement the research of Dr. Gregor Blaberidae Samsa, the first scientist to discover the association between mental activity and the release of carbon dioxide gas during normal respiration. Dr…

"If it is not seemly, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not." -Marcus Aurelius A story in USA Today reports the results of a survey of 1,662 physicians, of whom 96% agreed that "doctors should report impaired or incompetent colleagues to relevant authorities," while over half the group…

I read fellow ScienceBlogger Orac's take on the sad case of Dennis Lindberg, the 14 year old boy with acute leukemia who died after refusing to accept blood transfusions due to his religious beliefs, and felt like putting my own two cents in this dialogue. As a medical oncologist who occasionally…

A report from MSNBC identifies seven food items commonly thought to be nutritious (or at least harmless) but actually either filled with nasty ingredients or stripped of healthy ones. If I may be permitted, I'd like to summarize the author's findings. The seven deadly snack foods (and their sins…