Response to an New York Times article

The January 8, 2008 issue of the New York Times included an article, “For Cancer Patients, Empathy Goes A Long Way.” I’m all for oncology developing a more caring and psychologically sensitive method of delivering devastating news. But I think we’re missing a major point. That is, hospitals need to be more responsible for having the proper staff available for dealing with serious diagnosis. Even if the physician or oncologist can follow a leukemia diagnosis with the right message of caring and the right tone for the treatment plan to follow, that doctor needs to leave. That doctor has rounds to complete and a private practice to attend to. Doctors are not the resource needed. They show up at critical times but their visits are infrequent and short. The cancer patient doesn’t need his or her blood counts for the day followed up by a quick “how are you doing today?” The cancer patient needs a trained professional that can deal with the aftermath of the devastation that is cancer. In other words, how are you feeling: your emotions, your self image, your spirit? Who is asking these questions? And who is helping newly-diagnosed patients to find the answers?

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