Footnotes
mementomori | January 14, 2008"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 cancer or of chemotherapy. It didn't really matter since the treatment was the same: two half-liter units of merlot-colored blood, courtesy of a pair of anonymous angels of mercy, also known as donors.
"I really don't want to do that."
"You don't have to, but getting two bags of blood will help…
mementomori | December 11, 2007It 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 exactly what he wants out of this life? Not many of us can claim to face the challenges of the day with such a spark in our eyes.
You have a robust and joyful spirit that sweeps over your listeners and draws them to you - in the world of business they call this magnetism. It will serve you well…
mementomori | November 5, 2007What do I say to a patient who declines to take chemotherapy, surgery or radiation therapy for his cancer? More specifically, how do I respond when a patient states that he prefers to take "alternative" medications in order to kill his rapidly growing malignant mass?
I've counselled him extensively and clearly explained what the chances are that traditional anti-cancer therapy will kill his tumor and save his life, or in his case, prolong his life since I am suspicious that the disease has already spread. I've explained what the risks and side-effects of chemotherapy consist of. He…
mementomori | October 19, 2007Lessons learned are like
Bridges burned,
You only need to cross them but once.
-Dan Fogelberg
Last time I checked none of us have been ordered to bend their knee to the Gods of Apathy, Stupidity and Cowardice, yet I see people all the time who are miserable in life because of their unwillingness to walk away from this silly Triumvirate of Mediocrity.
On our fantastic journey from birth to death we all have the opportunity to grow in empathy, knowledge and fortitude, by which we continuously reform ourselves into more loving, more committed individuals. One way to achieve this is by…
mementomori | September 25, 2007I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves.
-Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773)
It was quite busy in the office today; in fact, I'm still here as I type this at 1710 hours CDT, and must go back to the hospital as soon as I'm finished writing. Not to confuse me with a real doctor (read: surgeon), "quite busy" for me usually means one of the following:
1. Had to attend a meeting designed to test my powers of wakefulness.
2. One or more patients presented with a complicated development that required the mental powers of an Einstein to solve.
3. No…
mementomori | September 4, 2007Sometimes oncologists spend the day performing strictly as oncologists - asking questions, listening, poking, inspecting, talking on the phone, giving orders, looking at x-rays or arcane columns of numbers. The casual observer might characterize this routine as akin to watching a cat in the middle of its siesta. I believe the term is soporific.
Ahem...no offense taken; in fact, we call this "Having a good day at the office."
Despite the urge to get down on bended knee and ask for every day to be like this, all docs worth their salt know that such prayers will fall on deaf ears. The…
mementomori | August 23, 2007Diseases desperate grown
By desperate appliance are relieved,
Or not at all.
-Hamlet, Act IV, scene iii
Desperation, one of the fiercest of emotions associated with life-threatening illness, sometimes ignites inside of patients and sometimes just slowly kindles to flame. No matter with what speed it travels its ultimate goal is to scorch the hope we need to persevere when faced with a disease such as cancer.
As a health care provider (formerly known as "physician") one of my duties is to try and douse anguish before it holds "illimitable dominion over all," as Poe would say. This of course…
mementomori | August 8, 2007patience (definition no. 1): the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.
Some are just born with it.
Some never are able to acquire it, reminding observers of a copperhead immediately after being stepped on.
Some wield it with apparent ease, hiding the scars that bear witness to the recalcitrance in learning it.
Some have it land on their shoulder like a butterfly, only to see it flutter away before leaving any of its magic.
Some can produce it continuously, as if from a limitless…