We are all just one diagnosis away from a different reality

Physician
October 29, 2017

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”
—George Washington Carver

Earlier this week, I walked into the exam room and introduced myself to a 48-year-old male.  As I generally do, I sat in front of him and asked, …

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We are all just one diagnosis away from a different reality

Being a doctor makes me a better father. Being a father makes me a better doctor.

Physician
June 18, 2017

I take my 10-year-old son to school as many school days as possible. We recap events from the prior day, and I give him early morning pep talks. It is a rarity, however, that I pick him up from school. During one of those rare occasions, he got into the car, smiling as he handed me a project he completed in class. It was an assignment in which he was …

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Being a doctor makes me a better father. Being a father makes me a better doctor.

This holiday season, pass the family history

Physician
November 29, 2016

This morning, I diagnosed a 49-year-old female with stage 4 colon cancer. She will probably not be alive in 5 years. She could have possibly prevented this diagnosis if she had known her family history. Many people don’t know the health history of their family. This holiday season is a perfect time and opportunity to delve into this history and prevent more senseless deaths.

The apple really doesn’t fall too far …

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This holiday season, pass the family history

The unacceptable cost of silence

Physician
October 27, 2016

Nearly a month before our national presidential election, a video surfaced online capturing a conversation between Presidential candidate Donald Trump and reporter Billy Bush. During this 2005 “private” conversation between the two, Trump lewdly brags to Bush about kissing and groping women without their consent. He is even heard boasting he can “get away” with this behavior because of his celebrity status. Trump has been heavily criticized for his words …

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The unacceptable cost of silence

The silent lessons of my grandmother

Physician
October 14, 2016

“I come as one. I stand as ten thousand.”
– Maya Angelou

I am a surgeon. I am proud of this fact partly because I am the first in my family to go to medical school. I am also proud of this fact because I recognize that me becoming a surgeon has been less about me and more of a collective and cumulative effort of my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and countless other …

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The silent lessons of my grandmother