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Tag: cancer
Say It Ain’t So
Dominic Donato
June 12, 2015
8 Comments
Dominic Donato
I am in my twenties.
I am a student in dental school. My seven classmates and I have gathered, notebooks and pens in hand, for the first day of our ten-day rotation at the Veteran’s Hospital oncology department.
Dr. Steele, a published expert in oral cancer, instructs us to follow him to the outpatient clinic. Some of those he’ll examine are initial consultations; others are follow-up exams. All are U.S. veterans. Many are homeless alcoholics, whose lifestyle, we’re told, predisposes them to oral cancers.
“I want each of you to take a look at this lesion on the right lateral border ventral side of the tongue,” says Dr. Steele in resonant tones. We bob our heads to find the
Walking Beside Me
Sara Cohen
June 12, 2015
3 Comments
HeatheRoden Vda. Cabrera (submitted by Sara Cohen)
About the artist:Â
“I paint, draw, work in terra-cotta, glass, stone and wood. I like mixed media, and I adore metallics and glitter. Visually, I am deeply concerned with the impact of light upon a scene or an object. My themes reflect my inner and outer worlds. I often paint issues that concern me: conditions in jail, impact on victims, and medical realities. I don’t try to be controversial; however, it is imperative to me that my work be authentic–no calendar art for me! I only do art to
Scarves: a DVD
Holly Zeeb
March 13, 2015
4 Comments
Holly Zeeb
I watched her
fling and tie
those scarves
so gracefully,
magically,
to adorn
her beautiful
shining head,
as if doves
might flutter forth.
Her steady voice
was gentle,
reassuring,
as if it were
an easy thing
Thirty Below
Kristie Johnson
February 13, 2015
18 Comments
Kristie Johnson
One cold February morning during my third year of medical school, I walked through the entrance of the rural hospital where I was doing a nine-month rotation, and made my way to the nurses’ station. Feeling the warmth return to my face, I set down my coat and bag and hung my stethoscope around my neck.
The charge nurse, Barb, waved me to her computer.
“Kristie, you have a patient.”
She shuffled through papers, grabbed a blank chart and placed the patient’s admission note on top. When she saw the name, her face fell.
“Ah, it’s Peggy.”
The Cancer Center
Nancy Tune
January 30, 2015
9 Comments
Nancy Tune
First impression: New and well appointed,
staffed by friendly people and my favorite, irony.
In the clinic hallway a woman plays a harp.
I have come to learn about the process of
my dying; surely this is meant to shake me
free of dread and make me laugh. It doesn’t, quite.
During treatment: I know where to go,
my focus straight ahead. Walkers,
wheelchairs, frightened people waiting in
the tasteful lobby. Down the stairs
I join a group of lonely people in a
silent prayer to gamma rays and science:
Please, some more time. Do not let us die, yet.
Chemo or Lourdes? Welcome to Cancerland
Michael Carbine
December 5, 2014
14 Comments
Michael Carbine
Dr. Peterson, the radiation oncologist, gets right to the point.
“The medical center’s tumor board has concluded that your cancer is inoperable, incurable and untreatable,” he says flatly. “Any chemotherapy or radiation treatments would be palliative in nature.”
He begins explaining the reasons behind the board’s verdict, but everything he’s saying washes out. My mind stopped working as soon as I heard the words “incurable” and “palliative.” I am sliding into shock.
Dr. Peterson pauses.
Two Timelines
Debi Santini
November 14, 2014
47 Comments
Timeline One
Day 1: For over thirty-five years my strong, spirited spouse, Carlo, served around the world in the Air Force. Now retired from the military, he still serves at the air base as a civilian security police officer.
His neck hurts. A lot. He blames the pain on the unbalanced weight of the bulletproof vest that Uncle Sam added last year to the uniform he proudly wears every day.
A Last Mother’s Day
Terry Hourigan
July 25, 2014
4 Comments
Terry Hourigan
About the artist:Â
 “I’m a father, nurse, writer and humor lover.  After my mom’s death in 1983, I became a hospice volunteer and then decided to go into medical service, leaving a photo career to do so.  I went briefly into the NYC emergency medical service, then attended nursing school and went into AIDS and cancer home care and hospice work.  It’s been twenty years now, interrupted in 2011 by colon cancer; the chemo rooms gave me some ‘no escape’ time in which I found that I could write.”
About the artwork:
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