How to Avoid Death in the ICU

It was sometime in April, 1988. I was putting a line in an old man with end-stage kidney disease, cancer (maybe), heart failure, bacteria in his blood and no consciousness. Prince was on the radio, loud, by his bedside. If you could call it that – the uncomfortable, curtained compartment didn’t seem like a good place for resting.

Posted in cancer treatment, Communication, Empowered Patient, Essential Lessons, health care costs, Life as a Doctor, Medical Ethics, Palliative Care, Patient Autonomy, Patient-Doctor RelationshipTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments on How to Avoid Death in the ICU

Why Give Blood?

Giving blood is something that’s close to my heart. When I was 14 years old, I received seven units of packed red blood cells from strangers…

Today, thousands will donate blood to honor the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr… The holiday presents, also, a special opportunity to gather much-needed registrants for the National Marrow Donor Registry…

Posted in Hematology (blood), Life, Life as a Patient, Medical Education, Medical History, Public HealthTagged , , , , , , , 1 Comment on Why Give Blood?

Moms Tweet About Blood and Cancer

This afternoon I found a Tweet from a colleague, a journalist who happens to be a mom in my community:

Tweet from SuSaw:
“RT @JenSinger: Hey, baby. What’s your blood type? Nothing against the Big Pink Machine… http://ow.ly/URkg

As a trained hematologist (blood doc), oncologist and breast cancer survivor, I couldn’t resist checking this out. Here’s what I discovered…

Posted in Communication, Future of Medicine, Health IT, Hematology (blood), Social Media, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment on Moms Tweet About Blood and Cancer
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