Cancer Stories: The Art Of Oncology

"Questions for the Oncologist," by Barry Meisenberg: an oncologist struggles to answer a patient’s “Why me?” question.   Transcript   Narrator: Questions for the Oncologist by Barry R. Meisenberg, MD (10.1200/JCO.22.00158)   Go ahead, ask me anything. Decades of meeting beseeching eyes has prepared me. Ask me anything except that one thing. That one thing that neither colleagues nor study has helped me comprehend. Ask me instead about prognosis; I will be honest, but gentle. Ask me about side effects; I will use a small spoon so as not to overfill your vessel. Unfold your notebook. Ask me anything:   “-how many cases like mine have you seen before? -what is the nectar of the bone marrow? -what (and how) should I tell the children? -is it wise to lay in the sun? -is it safe to have sex? -should I get the vaccine? -what’s next if this doesn’t work? -what if it were your wife?” Go ahead, ask me anything. But please, don’t ask me that one thing. Don’t ask, “why me?” You wouldn’t like the answer. I don’t. I could