head and neck cancer – The Crab Diaries

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

A Different Kind of Mask

“I want them to live again to the point where pain becomes art.” Lawrence Durrell, “Justine” I have always loved masks. Near sighted likely from birth, a fact which was discovered significantly later, I never minded stumbling around our neighborhood on Halloween, my already deficient depth perception further stunted by my Bugs Bunny mask. To… Continue reading A Different Kind of Mask

The Glass Is Half Full

A couple of weeks ago my nurse came to me with a request for a consultation. Since our schedule has been packed full lately, she’s been asking me where I can squeeze patients in. She said, “I’m not sure about this one—he says you treated him twenty years ago and he wants to see you. … Continue reading The Glass Is Half Full

The Dentist Will See You Now, or Why I am Not a Veterinarian

I’m usually pretty good at keeping track of all things medical—when my kids were vaccinated, when I need my mammograms and PAP smears, when the girl dogs come into season and when the horses need to see the dentist. So when Norman the Lipizzaner arrived home from the boarding stable underweight, and two weeks later… Continue reading The Dentist Will See You Now, or Why I am Not a Veterinarian

The Gift of the Magi

When I was young, one of my favorite stories was O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi.” Originally published in 1905, the short story became standard fare in public school reading classes and I doubt that there are any of you out there who have not read it. But just in case– the story is… Continue reading The Gift of the Magi

Thanks For Your Support

My husband likes to say, “No good deed goes unpunished.” I don’t always agree, but sometimes you just can’t argue that concept. One of my favorite patients, a forty nine year old woman who I treated for head and neck cancer a year ago is a good case in point. Head and neck cancer is… Continue reading Thanks For Your Support

Hunger Strike

The Q’s will not eat. My two female deerhound sisters, Queen and Quicksilver, aka Quibbets and Little Grey, are coming four years old in January. They are both AKC Grand Champions and as such, I have not spayed them yet, thinking that perhaps I will breed a litter, my first since my only prior litter… Continue reading Hunger Strike

FIFTY/FIFTY

When I was 30 years old, I learned the true meaning of optimism. During my residency, I was fortunate enough to have as a mentor one of the world’s greatest radiation oncologists for head and neck cancer. This man was born in China to two Chinese Christian missionary parents. He and his twin brother were… Continue reading FIFTY/FIFTY