Terminal
Authors: Frank A. Lederle
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2017)

On Being a Patient5 December 2017TerminalFrank A. Lederle, MDFrank A. Lederle, MDUniversity of Minnesota and Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, Minnesota (F.A.L.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-2788 Audio Reading - “Terminal” Audio. Michael A. LaCombe, MD, Annals Associate Editor, reads "Terminal," by F.A. Lederle. Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail According to UpToDate, the median survival for metastatic pancreatic cancer is 3 to 6 months (1). It's been 18 months since my diagnosis, all spent on what I believed to be death's door. Samuel Johnson said that, “when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” With the benefit of this much time to concentrate, perhaps my experience may be useful to those in similar circumstances.When I was called out of a morbidity and mortality conference to receive the fateful imaging results, my life expectancy collapsed from decades to months and ...References1. Ryan DP. Chemotherapy for advanced exocrine pancreatic cancer. Updated 28 March 2016. Accessed at www.uptodate.com on 24 October 2017. Google Scholar2. Coyle N. The existential slap— a crisis of disclosure [Editorial]. Int J Palliat Nurs. 2004;10:520. [PMID: 15580106] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Waljee AK, Rogers MA, Lin P, Singal AG, Stein JD, Marks RM, et al. Short term use of oral corticosteroids and related harms among adults in the United States: population based cohort study. BMJ. 2017;357:j1415. [PMID: 28404617] doi:10.1136/bmj.j1415 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Strack F, Martin LL, Stepper S. Inhibiting and facilitating conditions of the human smile: a nonobtrusive test of the facial feedback hypothesis. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988;54:768-77. [PMID: 3379579] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: University of Minnesota and Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, Minnesota (F.A.L.)Corresponding Author: Frank A. Lederle, MD, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55417; e-mail, frank.[email protected]gov. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement Audio Reading - “Terminal” Audio. Michael A. LaCombe, MD, Annals Associate Editor, reads "Terminal," by F.A. Lederle. Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byTaking the Bait from the Prescription Opioid Industry: a Mea CulpaDevelopment of an Art of Oncology Curriculum to Mitigate Burnout and Foster Solidarity Among Hematology/Oncology FellowsPancreatic Cancer 5 December 2017Volume 167, Issue 11Page: 826-827KeywordsChemotherapyConsciousnessEmotionsForecastingHealth insuranceLife expectancyMorbidityMortalityVenous thromboembolismWeight loss ePublished: 5 December 2017 Issue Published: 5 December 2017 PDF downloadLoading ...