Ron Louie is a pediatric oncologist.

The Chief Poisoner: a chemotherapy poem

Physician
January 7, 2026

An excerpt from What the Physician Whispered.

You are looking at me, little one,
perhaps wondering who I might be.
Even though I might seem friendly,
you seem wary and frightened, not yet
used to seeing strangers and busy places.
Someone thought maybe I might help save you.

I offer to give you poison.

They have not told you, because they do not know
how sick you really are, meaning how close you are
to an unexpected conclusion that …

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The Chief Poisoner: a chemotherapy poem

A husband’s story of end-of-life care at home

Physician
November 27, 2025

The British tend to use the term “carer” for the people who help other persons with needs. It seems to emphasize its root word, care, with implications for family members, volunteer helpers, and professionals who fill that role. The American term tends to be “caregiver;” its usage has become more common.

Even when I worked in health care, I had never used either of those terms. But over the last fifteen …

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A husband’s story of end-of-life care at home

Will Alzheimer’s disease researchers miss seeing the forest from the trees?

Conditions
October 14, 2019

The National Institute of Aging (NIA) just announced $73 million over five years to fund two new research centers. “The Alzheimer Centers for the Discovery of New Medicines are designed to diversify and reinvigorate the Alzheimer’s disease drug development pipeline,” says the NIA online. The AlzForum.org has more details, quoting researchers saying they will change the direction away from amyloid-beta and tau (the presumed …

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Will Alzheimer’s disease researchers miss seeing the forest from the trees?

Do substituted decisions break the Golden Rule?

Physician
July 18, 2019

The way I learned the Golden Rule was: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Basically, it’s from the New Testament, but the concept goes way back to pre-Christian ancient civilizations in Babylonia, Egypt, India, and China.

So here I am, just trying to do my best as a spousal caregiver, and I started to realize that if I were to take the Golden Rule literally — …

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Do substituted decisions break the Golden Rule?

Interpreting 2 recent studies involving Alzheimer disease

Conditions
April 27, 2019

Two prestigious medical journals published studies involving Alzheimer disease (AD) and amyloid beta in successive weeks; both were paired with guest expert commentaries (editorials).  One editorial, about a drug study, also reviewed several other failures in anti-amyloid therapy and stated: “To be blunt, A-beta [amyloid] lowering seems like an ineffective approach….” The other editorial had an encouraging attitude toward amyloid PET imaging as part of …

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Interpreting 2 recent studies involving Alzheimer disease

Dementia patients want effective drugs. How will the FDA respond?

Meds
May 16, 2018

Dementia patients want effective drugs. Five years ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed changes to speed drug approvals for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). No new drugs have been approved. This year, a new FDA draft guidance discusses considering biomarker data and changing cognitive evaluations for accelerated approvals. Would that help make effective drugs available, or are we lowering our expectations?

Numerous dementia agents have failed current …

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Dementia patients want effective drugs. How will the FDA respond?

A pediatric oncologist looks for progress in Alzheimer’s disease

Conditions
May 8, 2018

A baby acutely ill with leukemia seems like the polar opposite of a woman with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with her slow, insidious deterioration. Yet each disease can be progressive and fatal. I’ve cared for both, in different ways.  Can a childhood cancer doctor like me have insights about that other end of medicine, older adults with dementia?

As a husband and caregiver, confronting my wife’s Alzheimer’s disease, I am appalled by the …

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A pediatric oncologist looks for progress in Alzheimer’s disease