What’s your favorite reference book in geriatrics and palliative care?
August 3, 2015
by: Alex Smith, @AlexSmithMD It’s summer, and the new fellows have started. I usually post around this time about a…
The Business of Selling Hope Part II: Direct-to-Consumer Cancer Center Advertising
June 2, 2014
The majority of cancer patients with incurable stage IV lung or colon cancer think that the chemotherapy they are receiving…
“Palliative chemotherapy” – a term that should be laid to rest
May 14, 2014
by: Alex Smith, @AlexSmithMD What is this term “palliative chemotherapy”? Are the words “palliative” and “chemotherapy” so incompatible that their…
Are Older Persons Being Over Treated for Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer?
May 2, 2013
One could argue that nonmelanoma skin cancer should not even be called Cancer. While under the microscope it looks like…
More Tales of Medical Excess: Cancer Screening and the Dangers of Check Box Medicine
February 12, 2013
A distressing study recently published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine once again demonstrates the remarkable proclivity of the…
Most Patients with Incurable Cancer Think Chemo Might Cure Them
October 25, 2012
Deer Valley, Utah, from our lodge at the NPCRC retreat I’m at the National Palliative Care Research Center’s Annual Foley…
“Good evening. Hello. I have cancer. How are you?”
October 10, 2012
Tig Notaro was diagnosed just three days before a standup comedy set with invasive cancer in both of her breasts…
Poor Health Outcomes of Older Cancer Patients in the UK: Is Age Discrimination at Play?
June 21, 2011
Age discrimination can have many negative effects on the livelihoods of older people. Among these effects are poor health outcomes…
Watchful Waiting or Surgery for Prostate Cancer?
May 18, 2011
What should be done in men who have prostate cancer? On first examination, it might seem that the obvious answer…
Dying in India: Palliative Care Provides Hope
May 10, 2011
Imagine you have a terminal illness and were given a prognosis of 3 months…or less. In a developed country like…