What HIV/AIDS Taught Me About Pandemics: A Clinician ’s Perspective

As the surge in cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts occupies us day and night, I sit with my 22-year-old patient to discuss the guarded prognosis of his newly diagnosed brain tumor. I have this complex, heavy-hearted, and nuanced discussion with my overwhelmed patient while he is alone, his fianc é and mother sitting at home, barred from entering the hospital due to the COVID-19 crisis, and the thought occurs to me: “I’ve been here before.” I was a medical student and trainee in San Francisco during the AIDS epidemic.
Source: International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Learning from Past Pandemics Source Type: research