Why would oncologists go to the funeral of a patient? Standing among their patient's grieving friends and family, what are they thinking? How are they feeling?
Dr. Richard Frank, author of Fighting Cancer with Knowledge and Hope and the Director of Cancer Research at the Whittingham Cancer Center at Norwalk Hospital, offers a peek inside the heart and mind of an oncologist attending a patient's wake.
Granted, this is a highly personal essay written by a physician who is willing to let down his professional guard. But I know there are many clinicians like him: hardworking, dedicated and terribly sad when they can't do enough for their patients because the science is not yet where it needs to be.
Instead of excerpting this short piece that appears in the Spring 2011 issue of Cure, I'll do Dr. Frank more justice by simply providing the link: The Fragile Bonds of Cancer
I have only gone to the wake of one patient - a young woman about my age, who was a lovely person. I became her "special" nurse. We would kid around that the medication I applied to her leg wounds was a "spa" treatment. In the end, when it became clear that she would be unable to take her last trip to Florida, I adorned her room with a big cut-out of the sun, a children's sand cup & shovel, etc. Her parents appreciated my coming very much, and wanted to give me her dinnerware from when she was engaged (which he broke off after he found out she was sick). I found it an excellent closure to a good nurse/patient relationship.
Posted by: Donna M | April 04, 2011 at 06:33 AM
Dear Donna,
Thanks for sharing a picture of compassionate care. With hope, Wendy
Posted by: Wendy S. Harpham, M.D. | April 04, 2011 at 06:45 AM