Tag: science

Books, Medical Humanities, Patient-Physician Relationship

Shattered and Adaptable: Two Books, One Truth About Being Human

A few weeks ago, I sat with an elderly man with locally advanced bladder cancer and his daughter. She was worried; he no longer seemed like himself. He slept most of the day. He had no appetite, not even for her cooking, which he had once loved. She described how he used to fill the kitchen with stories from his morning walk—the neighbor’s new dog, … Continue reading Shattered and Adaptable: Two Books, One Truth About Being Human

Unknown's avatarMarcin Chwistek, MD
Global, Medical Humanities, Patient-Physician Relationship

The Parallel Frontier: While We Cure Cancer, Can We Deliver Those Cures?

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash The HIV Transformation In the mid-1990s, as a young resident new to the U.S., I was still learning about HIV/AIDS when a patient arrived in our Connecticut ER one night – a young man, close to my age, muscular and healthy-looking but desperately short of breath. I remember him vividly. His chest glistening with sweat, he heaved with each … Continue reading The Parallel Frontier: While We Cure Cancer, Can We Deliver Those Cures?

Unknown's avatarMarcin Chwistek, MD