I have found that many patients feel the need to protect their loved ones from hearing about the physical and emotional ordeal of living with serious illness. An example of this dynamic emerged in the video that accompanies SpeakSooner: A Patient’s Guide to Difficult Conversations where Laura Byrne tells us, “I don’t want anyone to […]
One Door Closes, Another Opens
I recently discovered an article I wrote titled “A Medical Humanist Says Good-bye” that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (July 9, 2008). It recounted the role of medical humanist I created at the cancer center in Bennington, Vermont and the position coming to an end. Included in the article was […]
Moral Support
As with all newly diagnosed patients, I would introduce myself and explain the role of a medical humanist on the cancer care team, emphasizing how I could help to facilitate communication with their doctor about what may not have been understood regarding their diagnosis, treatment plan, prognosis and supportive care needs. On this particular […]
Who’s This For?
In the video accompanying SpeakSooner: A Patient’s Guide to Difficult Conversations we hear Fritz, who’s living with advanced prostate cancer, acknowledge that the rewards of continuing treatment more than exceed the risks but understands that there are no guarantees. He states that he and his wife decide together “to do whatever my physician thought was […]
Tell Me How to Do It
Dying is one of the most difficult subjects for patients and loved ones to talk about. It can also be uncomfortable for healthcare providers who may not be able to evaluate a patient’s willingness to face end-of-life care decisions. In a series of video interviews, I asked patients their thoughts about dying. Adrienne tells […]
Someday, I May Be Your Patient
Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to offer presentations at academic medical institutions. I’ve been impressed by their commitment to the study and practice of medical science but I noticed a missing component in the education of physicians. That is, there was rarely time allocated for teaching empathy, which could help in gaining insight […]
Who Am I Doing This For?
In the video that accompanies SpeakSooner: A Patient’s Guide to Difficult Conversations, we hear Fritz acknowledge that the rewards of continuing treatment more than exceed the risks but he recognizes there are no guarantees. Living with advanced prostate cancer, Fritz states that he and his wife decide together “to do whatever my physician thought was […]
Does Spirituality Have a Place in Healthcare?
The role of spirituality in facing a health crisis varies from patient to patient. For healthcare providers, who rely on medical science, it can be a contentious subject. We posed the question of spirituality to a group of cancer patients who were interviewed for the Center for Communication in Medicine’s video Voices From the Lived […]
Navigating Hope
The concept of hope can be elusive for those facing a cancer diagnosis. In the Center for Communication in Medicine’s (CCM) video Voices from the Lived World of Illness we hear Adrienne Barnes say, “Hope is different from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day…” She is telling us what one “hopes for” […]
Holding Them Up
When facing a cancer diagnosis, you quickly learn who shows up and who retreats. The impact of illness on relationships was one of the topics discussed with four cancer patients in the Center for Communication in Medicine’s video “Voices from the Lived World of Illness.” As producers of the video, psychologist Dr. Bernard Bandman and […]