A pioneer in defining the role of medical humanist; Ms. Bandman is a writer, co-founder of the Center for Communication in Medicine and co-author of CCM’s signature tool, SpeakSooner®: A Patient’s Guide to Difficult Conversations.
It was true nine years ago and it's still true today! Read Celia's blog, What Is Left Unsaid... and join other caring medical professionals and individuals in spreading the word of the importance of educating patients and loved ones to be effective communicators -...
There are no rules for proper behavior, conversation or actions when there’s an advancement of a serious illness and no viable treatment options. Patients can find themselves confused when trying to communicate with family and friends about a dire prognosis and an...
In the video that accompanies SpeakSooner: A Patient’s Guide to Difficult Conversations, we hear Fritz acknowledge that the rewards of continuing treatment more than exceed the risks but he recognizes there are no guarantees. Living with advanced prostate cancer,...
“I am pleased to inform you that your manuscript ‘Art Informs Medicine’ has been accepted for publication in the Art of Oncology section,” the editor noted. I was well aware that this meant that my work was going to appear in an issue of the Journal of Clinical...
Over the years I’ve facilitated Writing is Good Medicine™ programs at the cancer center in Bennington, community workshops and conferences. More recently, due to safety concerns with COVID, online programs have been offered through my blog “A Medical Humanist’s...
I recall a patient’s husband recounting what his wife’s oncologist said when her cancer progressed and was no longer curable. The doctor told her to adjust her outlook “to living with cancer rather than dying from cancer.” At the time of that conversation, I was...
Almost 20 years ago four cancer patients were interviewed for the Voices from the Lived World of Illness video, which we produced at the Center for Communication in Medicine. Sitting side by side, the patients were asked for their suggestions about what would be...
Who among us likes to talk about dying? In a recent blog “Taking Silence for Comprehension,” I talked about how patients may not understand the risks and benefits of treatment options and quality of life considerations and may not know what questions to ask....
A few days ago, I came across a folder on my computer that contained a New York Times article (June 30, 2016) titled “At the End of Life, What Would Doctors Do?” by palliative care physician Dr. Ira Byock. The article explored what doctors think when facing death,...
In digging through files, I discovered a job description of my first position in the world of cancer care. Memories flooded in, including how I initially refused to accept the job. Let me tell you how the door was opened. The year my work began was 1998 and,...
