They lied to us, they did–Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem and all the others who told us back in the 60’s and 70’s that we could have it all. Or maybe they weren’t exactly lying to the impressionable girls graduating from high school and like me, beginning their college and subsequent careers as professionals in… Continue reading Happy Mother’s Day
Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On
Yesterday I had the unique experience of watching a production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, acted, with musical accompaniment, entirely by a group of fifth graders. Friends of mine from Los Angeles, himself a teacher at the Hobart Boulevard public elementary school, had invited me to this year’s presentation by the Hobart Shakespeareans. As many… Continue reading Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On
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
Cancer and AIDS, AIDS and Cancer
For Dr. Abraham Verghese, who inspires me. This evening on the way home from Boston I finished a book that I had started more than a month ago, on my way back from Albuquerque. Well, that is not entirely truthful. I stopped reading on page 408, because if I had kept going everyone on the… Continue reading Cancer and AIDS, AIDS and Cancer
A Culture of Tenacity
It occurred to me yesterday evening as I walked off my flight from San Diego into Terminal C at Boston’s Logan Airport that I have done this before—landed at an East Coast hub two weeks after a major terrorist attack. On September 20, 2001, my daughter and I, not without some hesitation, boarded a flight… Continue reading A Culture of Tenacity
Something Old, Something New
When I was a radiation oncology resident in Boston in the early 80’s, a few brilliant minds in physics and medicine came up with the notion that it would be a good idea to treat certain cancers with a beam of protons. Protons are the positively charged particles which are created with a hydrogen atom… Continue reading Something Old, Something New
Memories of Boston
“Today the road all runners come, Shoulder high we bring you home And set you at your threshold down Townsman of a stiller town.” A.E Housman As this afternoon’s events unfolded, I sat glued to my computer screen between patients. My life has really been a tale of three cities—Houston, Boston and San Diego. Boston… Continue reading Memories of Boston
Denial Redux
Today I saw a new breast cancer patient in clinic. She was a lovely lady of 64, who had retired last year from her job as a special education teacher. Her medical history had been unremarkable until last November when she began to gain weight inexplicably. She was also short of breath, but did not… Continue reading Denial Redux
Return to Forever
Tonight, a guest blog from my husband: I may be dating myself but I vividly remember hearing Chick Corea’s Return to Forever band play a set in Boston in the early 1970’s. I was in medical school at the time, but that didn’t stop me from scraping together the ticket money to hear the… Continue reading Return to Forever
Empty Nest
My sister was here recently to help me out while my father was in the hospital. She is much kinder and more patient than I am, so I was very grateful for her help. She is leaving to go home to New Jersey tomorrow. Tonight before dinner we took the deerhounds for a walk. In… Continue reading Empty Nest