What is Truth?
October 8, 2011The call came, as they often do, at night. This time it was a mother who has a teenage daughter battling melanoma. The family had seen three or four different doctors, each of whom gave different advice on what treatment to pursue. …
The Power of Two
September 30, 2011When a doctor tells a patient they have cancer, they take great pains to explain the situation. The better docs will use lay-language and talk about treatment plans and next steps. More often than not, however, it is a wasted convers …
In Isolation
September 9, 2011I have been thinking lately about how melanoma can isolate people. Any life changing event does this to some degree. Have a baby, win the lottery, lose a job, lose a parent. It all can isolate. Even though we seldom walk these paths a …
An Epidemic?
September 2, 2011The American Academy of Dermatology just had their summer meeting and one of the speakers, Dr. Darrell Rigel, grabbed my attention with some alarming comments. We have known for a while that melanoma rates are rising. This trend is a real phenome …
One More Question
September 2, 2011I have written a couple of times about questions patients ask when first diagnosed with cancer: “Am I going to die?” “How did this happen?” Another question I hear emerges later. It comes after the diagnosis, t …
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