tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post115781136511323062..comments2024-02-18T13:53:30.168-08:00Comments on Surgeonsblog: Breast Cancer WomenSid Schwabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-71830480943133915412016-08-19T06:53:02.141-07:002016-08-19T06:53:02.141-07:00As it happens, I wrote something on that very conc...As it happens, I wrote something on that very concept (the "bad day"): http://surgeonsblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/fielders-choice.html<br /><br />I do have some on the legal system, too...Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-68946616838257126172016-08-19T02:28:30.031-07:002016-08-19T02:28:30.031-07:00As a patient who has over the years seen great doc...As a patient who has over the years seen great docs and surgeons and not so great ones, this is my thought. We are all imperfect. Anyone who thinks it is realistic to expect doctors to be perfect should get their head checked. (MD does not stand for minor deity). How can we as patients ask our docs to try as hard as they can for us, and not allow them to make the occasional mistake? If we want them to go to bat for us we need to go to bat for them. As a former figure skater I can tell you that if you don't fall once in a while, you are not trying your hardest. As a former paralegal, I can tell you if people want affordable healthcare (or any healthcare for that matter) they better get their act together and start petitioning congress for changes in our tort laws. Unfortunately, I do not believe people will do this. Taking responsibility for one's health and also allowing for a little reality to enter their expectations seems to be more work than the average over weight, tv watching, american wants to do these days. Oh did I sound negative about my countrymen? You better believe I am - and I'm thinking of moving to Costa Rico or Panama after then next election too - no matter who wins. I'm sick of the attitudes in this country.BJ Doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18170764749521354628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-73232812358791971542012-06-27T03:39:14.443-07:002012-06-27T03:39:14.443-07:00A therapist friend of mine told me to look up this...A therapist friend of mine told me to look up this legend because i had breast cancer at 29. It is very inspiring that us warrior women have been so strong and brave throughout the years. Breast cancer as shocking as it can be makes us stronger! The scars across my chest resemble a battle i won and that makes me very proud. Thanks for the great post!!! AmyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-50721996899900966222009-10-28T15:11:22.934-07:002009-10-28T15:11:22.934-07:00You could be right, depending on position. But I w...You could be right, depending on position. But I was thinking along <a href="http://images.elfwood.com/art/m/a/matthias83/elven_archer.jpg" rel="nofollow">these lines</a>.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-54009565397109382582009-10-28T14:21:31.468-07:002009-10-28T14:21:31.468-07:00I am almost positive a right handed archer would b...I am almost positive a right handed archer would be hitting her right breast with the bow string.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-91877681727727858162008-06-23T10:24:00.000-07:002008-06-23T10:24:00.000-07:00It turns out that the "without breast" story is a ...It turns out that the "without breast" story is a folk etymology! A fun one.. but not really true.<BR/><BR/>There were Amazonian women.. and they were fighters.. and it's more likely that they Greeks borrowed the Iranian word "ha-mazan" which means to fight together.. and over time they made up the legend to explain where the word came from.<BR/><BR/>I often prefer the folk etymologies over the real stories.. as they are more fun!<BR/><BR/>Marina<BR/><A HREF="http://www.cocomment.com/comments/hotforwords" REL="nofollow">Your trusty philologist</A>HotForWordshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09308786894128935935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-27835057951774540892006-09-17T23:53:00.000-07:002006-09-17T23:53:00.000-07:00That's a great story! Love it!That's a great story! Love it!Sarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15606922510495018342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-68612924380992056892006-09-13T03:49:00.000-07:002006-09-13T03:49:00.000-07:00Thank you for information. Glad to have stumble up...Thank you for information. Glad to have stumble upon your blogimlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09180004142955930580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-89153575550540015602006-09-11T05:01:00.000-07:002006-09-11T05:01:00.000-07:00Xena paraphernalia.... that is TOO MUCH INFORMATIO...Xena paraphernalia.... that is TOO MUCH INFORMATION. Some things should remain between husband and wife, and this is one of them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-70190579865343747682006-09-10T21:54:00.000-07:002006-09-10T21:54:00.000-07:00Thank you for this post, Dr. Schwab. I hold "Glori...Thank you for this post, Dr. Schwab. I hold "Gloria" in high admiration!<br /><br />I'm saddened, however, by Anonymous' comment ... I don't know what the people who are using litigation in medicine as a cash cow think they're going to do when they're done destroying healthcare ... it will be gone for them, too ...<br /><br />It's going to be a round lesson, I think ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-44118891904610921102006-09-09T19:15:00.000-07:002006-09-09T19:15:00.000-07:00anonymous: what a heartfelt and raw and right-on p...anonymous: what a heartfelt and raw and right-on post. You have expressed what I see happening all around me. In a way, this blog is bitter-sweet: it's a way for me to connect to the core of what's good about being a surgeon. And it also reminds, as you so well describe, what's not so good, particularly now. <br /><br />In my case, I ended up burning out much younger than I'd have thought or wanted: mostly because I had become incredibly busy, and because I never took much time off. Making rounds every day and every weekend, on call or not. Taking calls on my patients at all times. Working always on my day off. Added to that, the issues you raise and the ever-increasing bureaucracies, decreasing reimbursement, loss of a sense that quality meant anything to those paying for it. And yet, at its core, being a surgeon is an honorable, humbling, and deeply rewarding thing. <br /><br />If I may be so bold, you might like my book, which is mostly about training, but which ends with reflections on then and now. If you're interested, there are links on the blog....<br /><br />Thank you very much for taking the time to write such a deeply felt and moving post.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-41725826757768319272006-09-09T15:28:00.000-07:002006-09-09T15:28:00.000-07:00Dear Sid,
Thanks as always for your inspiring pos...Dear Sid,<br /><br />Thanks as always for your inspiring postings. Amidst all the misery that's afflicted the practice of general surgery in the past few years, your blog is a much-needed breath of fresh air.<br /><br />My practice (with its general surgery component) is on the brink of closing down. We were in one of the AMA "crisis states" and the medical malpractice rates were accelerating so rapidly that they basically killed our ability to keep the practice running. One of my colleagues had been in the business for decades, had helped thousands of patients including many women with breast cancer, and took such pride in my work that he encouraged me to pass that along in the occasional lectures I did while a visiting professor. <br /><br />But he had the misfortune of being named in one of those ridiculous "bullet-spray" lawsuits by a malpractice lawyer against the practice-- for a moderately adverse outcome that could not have been prevented even given the heroic care we provided-- on top of almost a half-dozen more in recent years, and he's decided to call it quits.<br /><br />He's never had a lawsuit prevail against him, but the cost of settling those idiotic BS suits brought by some lawyer gaming the system was too much to bear, not just financially but in terms of his most basic sense of respect for his job. Despite working 90-hour weeks for many years and enduring tremendous self-sacrifice for thousands of his patients, the legal briefs by the malpractice lawyers portrayed him as an arrogant and negligent fool (a misrepresentation that verges on being criminal), which hurt him far more than any of the (ultimately unsuccessful) suits could have. He did not deserve such vituperation and has decided to leave as a result.<br /><br />Two of my other colleagues have also left the field-- one of them, unfortunately, having been sued in a breast cancer case, ironically enough, despite her tremendous efforts on behalf of her patient and having done more than even the most strenuous calls of duty. I have escaped this level of traumatic lawsuits only because I am less than a decade into my field, but because of the attrition in our practice, we are having to close down.<br /><br />I love surgery and my colleagues and patients more than I can express, but I am sorry to say, I am deeply pessimistic about the future of general surgery in the United States. The malpractice attorneys have basically destroyed our profession here; I'm shocked at the number of my colleagues leaving the profession, some even leaving the US entirely for other countries. Until this fundamental problem is solved, all the joy we have in doing surgery and providing patient care won't matter much. It'll be swamped out by the litigation madness falling like an avalanche on our field. Your blog is one of the few remaining breaths of fresh air I still have, to remind me of the value of doing what I do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-1157818046210054302006-09-09T09:07:00.000-07:002006-09-09T09:07:00.000-07:00very enlightening post. i knew about the legend of...very enlightening post. <BR/><BR/>i knew about the legend of the amazon women, but i dont know if i really buy it. as a legend its cool, however. <BR/><BR/>im not surprized women deal with the changes from a mastectomy better than men. we dont get our sense of self from our bodies as much as men do. in spite of the additional pressure on women to have the perfect body. even if we manage it, its never really who we are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com