Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

In the midst health care cynicism, an affirmation of enduring love

Miranda Fielding, MD
Physician
September 16, 2013
Share
Tweet
Share

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 about a young couple, poor and deeply in love.  At Christmas, they have no money to buy each other gifts.  She cuts off her long golden hair, her prized possession, to buy him a watch chain for his own treasure, the pocket watch his grandfather left him.  He sells the watch to buy ornamental combs for her beautiful tresses.  In a classic example of cosmic irony, the two are bereft of everything except their enduring love for one another.

Yesterday, an 85-year-old man was crying in my office.  A month ago, he completed a grueling seven weeks of treatment for head and neck cancer. Otherwise healthy, he endured the side effects of treatment with great equanimity — the loss of taste, the sore throat, the dry mouth, the hoarseness, the skin reaction, the fatigue and the weight loss associated with treatment.  His reward is great — he is free of disease and very likely to remain so.  He drove himself to every treatment, clearly motivated to complete his therapy despite his advanced age.  I never had to cajole him into continuing and finishing the treatment — he was clear that he was doing this for his wife of sixty three years, and for his family.  He wanted more time, and more healthy time with them.

When I saw him in follow up, I asked him how his post-treatment time had been.  Many times for radiation therapy patients, the week or weeks following treatment are even more difficult than the treatments themselves — the side effects may worsen before they improve.  So I was not surprised when he said, “It’s been terrible.”

I patted his arm and said, “Tell me about it.”

He replied, “Right after I finished, my wife was hospitalized and now she is in kidney failure.  She started dialysis on Wednesday.”

Somewhat surprised that an 85-year-old woman would choose to go on dialysis, I asked him, “Do they expect her kidney function to improve?”

He said, “No, the doctors said there is no chance of improvement.  The hospital doctor said that under no circumstances would he recommend dialysis for her.  But the kidney doctor said it was her choice — to have dialysis and live, or to be made comfortable and die.  She chose to live, for me.”

And then he wept.

We can all be cynics or pragmatists if we choose.  We can talk about the escalating cost of healthcare, and the wisdom or folly of treating 85-year-olds with intensity modulated radiation therapy and daily image guidance and their wives with hemodialysis.  But what I saw yesterday was an affirmation of enduring love, in two elderly people, who gave one another a gift not unlike “The Gift of the Magi” — the gift of sacrificing self to continue to live.

It’s hard to be cynical about that.

Miranda Fielding is a radiation oncologist who blogs at The Crab Diaries.

Prev

Painting in the OR: The evolution of surgical preparation

September 16, 2013 Kevin 1
…
Next

I'm grateful that I've been given a second chance

September 16, 2013 Kevin 8
…

Tagged as: Nephrology, Oncology/Hematology

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Painting in the OR: The evolution of surgical preparation
Next Post >
I'm grateful that I've been given a second chance

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Miranda Fielding, MD

  • I began to love medicine again

    Miranda Fielding, MD
  • What is the recipe for a great cancer doctor?

    Miranda Fielding, MD
  • Plastic surgery is more than Botox. Hopefully doctors can remember that.

    Miranda Fielding, MD

More in Physician

  • Why more doctors are choosing direct care over traditional health care

    Grace Torres-Hodges, DPM, MBA
  • How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

    Neil Baum, MD
  • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

    Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD
  • Why medicine must evolve to support modern physicians

    Ryan Nadelson, MD
  • Why listening to parents’ intuition can save lives in pediatric care

    Tokunbo Akande, MD, MPH
  • Finding balance and meaning in medical practice: a holistic approach to professional fulfillment

    Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

      Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO | Conditions
    • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

      Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James | Policy
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      G. van Londen, MD | Meds
    • Pharmacists are key to expanding Medicaid access to digital therapeutics

      Amanda Matter | Meds
    • Why ADHD in women requires a new approach [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 10 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

      Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO | Conditions
    • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

      Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James | Policy
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      G. van Londen, MD | Meds
    • Pharmacists are key to expanding Medicaid access to digital therapeutics

      Amanda Matter | Meds
    • Why ADHD in women requires a new approach [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

In the midst health care cynicism, an affirmation of enduring love
10 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...