Shutting Off Nurse Jackie

Jackie is supposed to be a crackerjack nurse who has some serious problems including drug addiction. That premise might be fair enough, in a House-like way, if her life-saving skills had unique value. But they don’t: the underlying problem with this show is that Jackie has no exceptional or redeeming qualities as a nurse. Sure, she cares about some of her patients, but that’s nothing extraordinary…

Posted in Psychiatry, TV, Women's HealthTagged , , , , 2 Comments on Shutting Off Nurse Jackie

The “Survivor” Term After Breast Cancer: Is There a Better Expression?

The question is, what’s the right, PC and emotionally-sound, sensitive but not sappy term to describe the situation of a person who’s living after breast cancer?

Some might say, who cares if you’ve had it?

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer awareness, cancer survival, Essential Lessons, language, Oncology (cancer), Psychiatry, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , 35 Comments on The “Survivor” Term After Breast Cancer: Is There a Better Expression?

Mind over Matter? Don’t Kid Yourself (on Stress and BC)

I learned of a new study implicating stress in reduced breast cancer survival by Twitter. A line in my feed alerted me that CNN’s health blog, “Paging Dr. Gupta,” broke embargo on the soon-to-be-published paper in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. The story – that women who undergo a stress relief program live longer after […]

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer survival, clinical trials, Essential Lessons, Medical News, Oncology (cancer), Pseudoscience, Psychiatry, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments on Mind over Matter? Don’t Kid Yourself (on Stress and BC)

A Tapestry, and Double-Dose of Magic (on Carole King and James Taylor, Troubadour and Breaking Addiction)

My plan for today was to write on evidence-based medicine. But that can wait, at least until the morning comes. I came upon the most wonderful recording of a concert by Carole King and James Taylor played in November, 2007 at LA’s Troubadour Club, a place I’ve never been. PBS aired the video, about an […]

Posted in Life, Life in NYC, Music, Psychiatry, ReviewsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment on A Tapestry, and Double-Dose of Magic (on Carole King and James Taylor, Troubadour and Breaking Addiction)
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