During my tenure as a medical humanist at Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center (2002-2005) I was an eyewitness to the complexities of communication between doctors, nurses, patients, and family members.

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And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from… T.S. Elliot • The Four Quartets

A friend, who has been living with multiple myeloma for the past seven years, forwarded me the link to “Not Just a Death, a System Failure” (link below) which appeared in the February 2 issue of the New York Times. After reading the article I found myself catapulted back in time. As a member of the cancer center staff, albeit a medical humanist and not a healthcare provider, I attended weekly staff meetings.  (more…)

Reading the Bennington Banner story about our recent SpeakSooner community program “Building Your Team & Navigating The System” I was catapulted back in time. A few years ago we had been invited by a leading academic medical center to introduce what at that time was our new interactive communication tool—Difficult Conversations Toolkit (Video & Workbook)—to oncology faculty and fellows. (more…)

A WORD is dead / When it is said, / Some say. I say it just / Begins to live / That day. Emily Dickinson

How often does a word on the page stop you? And, if it does—do you find yourself leaving the page? (more…)

“Even though things inside you might be ripping you up…” Steve Williams, a patient featured in our Difficult Conversations video, tells us “…you put on a good face. For many people it’s hard to ask for help… (more…)

Who among us has not attended a professional conference and exchanged a slew of business cards with like-minded colleagues promising to be in touch? But how many of us actually follow up? (more…)

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

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

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

Nicole Haran’s “Do Great” video features cancer survivors declaring their desire to hear “you will do great.”  (more…)