Blog

“at least I don’t have cancer” That’s what Mrs G said soon after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure. But as her provider, before you offer her tacit agreement (because you think that’s being empathetic- but, sorry, it’s not) while continuing on with your visit, take a moment to pause. What is she really saying?Read more

for his induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, april 12, 2018. some background Initially trained in urology, the talented surgeon/educator/researcher never thought much about death or the process of dying- he just assumed that as a doctor, he of course knew everything.  But then he did something that would change his entire careerRead more

My most recent posts stress the importance of understanding ‘the big picture’. For patients with a chronic, progressive disease, a critical component of this ‘big picture’  is an understanding of the natural history of that condition. but unknowingly, providers don’t always explicitly share that information.   One of the first patients I met during my palliativeRead more