Closure.

“I didn’t know I could talk to you” he said to me in the clinic today. We hugged and he sat down, “It happened so fast.” We were both fighting back some tears. “She was an amazing woman” I chimed, trying to find the right footing as we talked.

It was the end of my clinic and a family came to see me to find closure in the care of their loved one. This is a side of me that is very private and my voice is sharing this with you. My heart is not.  It is a rare event that I come full circle and have a chance to talk about someone who lived.

What is important to me in the closure of a patient who passes? I’ll share this intimate detail with you now.

When patients cross my path on their extraordinary journey, I deal with their cancer, their treatment and their ailments, I talk shop, science, but I never hear about the way they lived during this time. I never hear about what they did and what they really felt. I want to know that they embraced each day and that they did not let this beat them and that they fought for what they wanted. This was true for me today. I heard how she lived………………… “She hated that pill” and “the sun was all she wanted to do and went out despite you telling her not to” (my goodness, I laughed at that) ……… and we talked more………and I had closure. YEAH! My heart yelled. She LIVED. I always thought I would make the worst patient. I would never let an illness eat away at my life, and I would live despite what the “doctors” say.

“I feel better that I came and talked to you, Mo, I had no idea how to initiate this, I did not know it was even an option” he said to me, staring right at me, through me. I explained he was and always will be my family, and is welcome anytime. I have done this with many families. I guess I want them to know how it makes a difference to me and how it helps me heal too from the loss of a friend. “Thank you for taking the time” he told me, hugged me and left. Really? I believe I have to thank him for taking the time to come to me, to sit with me. One human to the next, is this so hard? What did he have to face? Memories of her treatment, bad news, decisions made……and he came anyway. “I was very anxious coming, I did not know what to expect.”

Perhaps our medical system should have a closure visit built into the system to allow physicians a chance to heal from wounds that sometimes make us appear indifferent or callous. Wisdom has softened my heart, and death has opened my compassion.

I never thought I would be writing like this, talking like this to all of you. When I first started blogging, I thought I couldn’t be myself and that I’d have to talk science and other stuff and be the “doctor”. I am discovering I am not able to do that. I picked Tuesday evening to write because it’s a clinic day for me and I am the closest to my patients when I am in clinic. I also realized how they make me feel.

Thank you, my friends.

Mo

 

 

 

Melanoma, Iowa and Our Story.

Melanoma has been a disease that has fascinated me. Unpredictable, dangerous and exceptionally intelligent. Its funny to talk about a disease this way.

I have been wondering how one actually starts blogging, thought about a start but perhaps I can talk to all of you this way.

Through the science that is attached to our work and our mission. Melanoma is a disease that is increasing in Iowa and across the world. 1 in 68 people in the United States will be diagnosed with this Melanoma in 2013. How can something so small on the skin have such a powerful impact on us as human beings?

Perhaps its origin might shed light on how and why it is unpredictable ; It originates in a group of cells called the “Neural Crest” , these are found very early when we are only embryos. Neural crest cells, stem cell biology, melanomagenesis (the cancer biology of melanoma), how these cells function normally are important in helping scientists elucidate the secrets of this disease.

Over the last few years, A dedicated team in Iowa and the midwest is slowly coming together to focus its efforts on melanoma research and understanding this disease. We have partnered through the Midwest Melanoma Partnership (MMP), http://www.midwestmelanoma.org, with 15 institutions to create a robust mechanism to share ideas and collaborate on many projects.

I will be writing regularly every wednesday night telling you our story and letting you meet the amazing people who have really made an impact to help patients get the best care. We value collaboration, creative ideas, universal sharing and innovation. Let this be a platform for us to communicate and for us to understand how to do this better.

Mo