These days, Thursdays are my busiest day of the week. It’s the day I see all of my on treatment patients. Currently there are thirty one of them—a busy load for a radiation oncologist. Nonetheless, I have instructed my therapists that they must leave me time for lunch, and so they schedule the patients so… Continue reading What’s For Lunch?
Tag: Radiation Oncology
There’s Hope For The Rest of Us
This morning I had the opportunity to speak about radiation oncology before a group of high school girls in a program called BeWISE, which stands for Be a Woman In Science and Engineering. The organizer of this morning’s seminar had purposely chosen an all- woman faculty, so that the students would get an opportunity to… Continue reading There’s Hope For The Rest of Us
I Am Easily Charmed
There has been some confusion around the office due to the fact that my partner became suddenly ill, and it was important that the patients on treatment be seen once a week. In addition to my own patients, I had seen all of his three weeks ago while he was on vacation, so I had… Continue reading I Am Easily Charmed
Weights and Measures
The sudden illness of a colleague is always a shocking surprise. As physicians, we are trained from an early age to ignore our own infirmities in the service of others. Apart from my three C-sections, I have been extremely fortunate in terms of my own health—I can count the number of sick days I’ve taken… Continue reading Weights and Measures
There Are No Shortcuts
“SHOW ME A BMS (Best Medical Student, a student at the Best Medical School) WHO ONLY TRIPLES MY WORK AND I WILL KISS HIS FEET.” The House of God At roughly 3 o’clock yesterday I was putting together a hasty lunch in our tiny break room. It was nothing special, just the usual—fresh mozzarella cheese… Continue reading There Are No Shortcuts
The Waiting
“The waiting is the hardest part Every day you see one more card You take it on faith, you take it to the heart The waiting is the hardest part.” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers I’ve never been good at waiting for anything. Instant gratification has been my middle name, and I’ve gotten in… Continue reading The Waiting
Perspective
When I was young and foolish, or very smart depending on your perspective, I married a man who is five and a half years older than me. When my husband was my age (and never trust a woman who will tell you her age, but between you and me I am 58), he started to… Continue reading Perspective
A Room With a View
Space is always at a premium in any bustling medical office, and my department is no exception. In the four years that we’ve been open, the patient volume has nearly doubled. We’ve added a second physician, a second nurse and several additional radiation therapists. My office manager does financial counseling in her tiny office that… Continue reading A Room With a View
Let’s Get Physical
In his great book “Cutting For Stone”, Abraham Verghese describes one of his main characters, Dr. Marion Stone, as being obsessed with a certain aspect of the physical exam. Dr. Stone, as the dictatorial chief of surgery at a major Boston teaching hospital, has drilled into his residents the necessity of performing a rectal exam… Continue reading Let’s Get Physical
Cancer is Not a Lifestyle
I’m not sure when I stopped being merely opinionated, and became a true curmudgeon. But I think it was about the same time that medical students started telling me that radiation oncology is one of the “lifestyle” specialties in medicine. According to the National Resident Matching Program, this year radiation oncology ranked 5th on the… Continue reading Cancer is Not a Lifestyle