What a Cancer Patient's Hair Taught Me About Medicine

"Promise you won't be an ass." Sudesna, my classmate, first told me about Sarah Walsh over a dinner of Thai green curry. Sarah, a 23-year-old girl, was hospitalized due to worsening difficulty with swallowing and moving her fingers. Sudesna knew I'd be interested in Sarah's case, but feared my tactlessness. As a third year medical student, I had learned some of the science and ignored most of the art. "Fine...I'll try." When Sudesna and I visited Sarah the following morning, she was lounging in cozy-looking plaid PJs and glasses that reminded me of Liz Lemon from 30 Rock. I couldn't decide if her shoulder-length brown curls looked more like Titian's Venus or Botticelli's. Her dense brown curls tumbled down her shoulders and disappeared beneath a patchwork blanket that looked like the Berkshires in Autumn. Instead of the typical sterile hush of hospital rooms, there was a jolly ambiance of ugly sweater Christmas parties. Sarah's parents, brother, and three sisters emitted quips and giggles without warning. Sarah squinted at us for a lingering moment and decided that we could join the party. Sudesna had Sarah's latest CT scan results. It showed a lesion in her brainstem. The differential included scary things ranging from cancer to infection. Most people, faced with such information, ask for their chances and their life expectancy. Instead, Sarah sternly asked us not to prognosticate because she was determined to "beat" whatever it was, finish college, and have three kids. ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news