Category: Patient Care
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Random
Death is a door. It is a moment in time that is well-defined. Once it happens it is irreversible. Just like the diagnosis of cancer. It cannot be undone. I have said the word “Sarcoma” to so many patients. Yet this is a rare disease. It stems from the Greek word that means “fleshy growth”.…
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Frazzled
The tension in the work room was mounting. The research coordinator sat next to physician’s assistant who was waiting eagerly by the phone. She was waiting for a phone call from the radiologist. I knew who this was for as I had walked by the room multiple times and seen the patient pacing up and…
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Yell
Her face was ashen as she walked into the clinic room. Her movements were slow, and deliberate. She was clearly significantly fatigued. Not the bubbly person I knew her to be 2 weeks ago. Clearly something was amiss. I was walking to see another patient, but my critical eye could not dismiss that my patient…
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Invitation
“Just tell him he has more than 4 weeks to live”, her eyes welled up with tears. I reached for the tissues that are so conveniently placed in every room in the cancer center. He had sarcoma in his lungs, and the surgeon could not remove them after taking him to the operating room. He…
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Trash
Once a week we are all cognizant of taking out our garbage and filling our recycling bins. It’s an active act on our part that requires the patience to collect, sort and remove waste from our homes. But it is not all us. There is a dedicated service that comes and removes it from in…