A Medical Humanist's Notes

It’s Treatable But Not Curable – REVISITED

I was thinking about the subject of my next blog when I was alerted that a new comment was awaiting approval.

In my previous blog, Dosing Hope and Reality, I responded to Dr. Gawande’s quest to help patients

Two years ago, I posted a blog, Inviting Doctors to Tell Difficult Truths about this very subject

Like many proactive patients, you might already bring pen and paper to your doctors’ appointments so you can take notes.

“Doctors have a hard job. Not everybody wants to have these conversations.” This insight comes from

Empathy. It’s something all of us would agree is a valuable—and often missing—component of care. So when

Doctors caring for patients facing incurable illness often feel pressure to come up with a “miracle” treatment. But what if

Poet Emily Dickinson called death “the only One You cannot find out all about.” While modern medical education

“There’s almost always, in every medical circumstance, one more thing we can try,” says Dr. Julie Bynum. But

In my last post, I asked whether a message of constant “positivity” might be silencing for patients who might need