Category: General Observations

Best Dick

In some of my previous entries, I have mentioned how important it is for patients to bring a friend or relative to their first appointment.  Most of the time, we welcome the spouse or best friend who is able to hear and process the information we are giving, especially if the patient herself or himself… Continue reading Best Dick

So It Goes

It was only natural that in a large urban radiation therapy department, such as the one where I did my residency, the residents often turned to black humor in order to escape from the realities of death and dying that we were witnessing.  Despite one of my attending’s iron clad rules—“Never treat a patient on… Continue reading So It Goes

Showing a Little Restraint

 For Jack Oberdorf In 1986, Hybritech released its first commercially available screening test for prostate cancer– the PSA test—triggering a torrent of newly diagnosed cases of this disease, and in turn, a flood of new technology to treat it, including the Da Vinci surgical robot, and proton beam radiation therapy.  In recent years, however, the… Continue reading Showing a Little Restraint

Hurricane Season

Watching the events of Hurricane Sandy unfold from a safe distance this past week, I was reminded of the great hurricane that occurred in my own youth, Hurricane Carla. At the time the largest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, Carla made landfall on the coast of Texas on September 11, 1961. I was… Continue reading Hurricane Season

Just Give Me the Gist of it Please

I recently saw an orthopedic specialist who proposed to operate on my arthritic feet, which have been quite done in by my favorite pastime for thirty five years of jogging miles on pavement combined with the wearing of high heeled shoes to work every day to make my short self taller and thus more powerful.… Continue reading Just Give Me the Gist of it Please

For Once, Then, Something

As I was leaving for Boston, I asked if anyone would care to contribute to this blog.  I am still processing the wonderful things that friends and family have sent me.  This one is from my husband. One drop fell from a fern, and lo, a ripple Shook whatever it was lay there at bottom,… Continue reading For Once, Then, Something

A Boston Story

Despite the recent hurricane, Boston is a city with many charms. If I had forgotten, a walk through Beacon Hill on Halloween was a great reminder—little ghosts and goblins everywhere and old brownstones decorated to the hilt. As I looked up at something protruding from a large bay window on Mt. Vernon Street, I realized… Continue reading A Boston Story

All the Pretty Horses are Gone

Somewhere in times own space There must be some Sweet pastured place Where creeks sing on And tall trees grow Some paradise where horses go, For by the love that guides my pen I know great horses live again. ~Stanley Harrison It was a tough week for the ponies, this one.   Earlier this week, Sandy… Continue reading All the Pretty Horses are Gone