62. This Was Heartbreaking
I think the most frustrating I’ve seen since I was a resident was a very pretty (like stunningly pretty) 17-year-old with what appeared to be normal, loving, affluent parents. She had a tumor in her pelvis (rhabdomyosarcoma), and we could expect to potentially cure her.
The parents declined, also declined chemo, and said they want to try holistic medicine because that made more sense to them.
I last saw her 3 years ago, she was getting huge lymph nodes removed from her groin because they were unsightly. Obviously, metastatic disease. The parents did not want the primary tumor removed and again declined chemo.
I see 100 patients/week probably, lots of devastatingly sad cases. But I still think about that girl, listening to her parents, costing her life. I bet she’s dead now.
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