Medicine at the Crossroads

          “When you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it, you surely will.”    Pollyanna   I try not to spend too much time on Facebook, but it’s always been a good way to keep up with “friends” in the Scottish Deerhound world.  The deerhound, being a rare breed, tends to link… Continue reading Medicine at the Crossroads

In Memoriam–Dr. Michael Davidson

In 1994, I was working at my first radiation oncology job in San Diego at Grossmont Hospital when I came into work to hear disturbing news.  One of my colleagues in medical oncology, a compassionate man known for his gentle nature, had stayed late at the Cancer Center the evening before to finish up paperwork. … Continue reading In Memoriam–Dr. Michael Davidson

The Curbside Consultation

Recently a friend of my husband’s in San Diego had a mammogram which showed some suspicious microcalcifications in her right breast.  She underwent a stereotactic biopsy which revealed ductal carcinoma in situ, the earliest form of breast cancer also known as Stage 0 breast cancer.  This type of cancer is non-invasive and does not metastasize,… Continue reading The Curbside Consultation

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

“I may not know a winner when I see one, but I sure as hell can spot a loser.”  Rocky On Saturday night, thirteen horses were saved from kill buyers at Mike’s Auction in Mira Loma, California, by three rescue organizations—Forgotten Horses Rescue, Inc,  HiCaliber Horse Rescue and Joey’s Home Animal Rescue.  Here in the… Continue reading They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

When Cancer Comes To Call

A patient story tonight, from Jackie:   It was one of those days.  I had been to the gynecologist the week prior because I somehow knew the sporadic bleeding which I had experienced was NOT a simple Urinary Tract Infection for which I had been treated three times.  My doctor did the scrapings and biopsies… Continue reading When Cancer Comes To Call

Siskel and Ebert

I have always loved the movies.  Like every grade school kid watching reruns, I cried when Bambi’s mother died, and when starry eyed Judy Garland clicked her heels and said, “There’s no place like home!”  But when the big budget films hit the screen in my early pre-teen years—Ben Hur, Camelot and Lawrence of Arabia,… Continue reading Siskel and Ebert

Love Letters

Another guest post tonight, from my friend Jackie Widen: I miss letters.  Rather, I miss sending AND receiving letters in the mail, real letters on stationery.  Our cultural communication has been reduced to tweets, posts, texts, emails and Facebook messages. Another part of growing older is remembering and cherishing this simpler method of communication. I guess… Continue reading Love Letters

The Library

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”  Stephen King If books are a uniquely portable magic, the same cannot be said for hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of books, but port them we did.  The first thing that my husband and I noticed about the house we ended up buying was the library—a room completely… Continue reading The Library