Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Cancer

  • William Bradley Coley: Visionary or snake oil salesman?

    Jayant RadhakrishnanChicago, Illinois, United States Dr. William Bradley Coley graduated with a B.A. in the Classics from Yale College. He then taught Latin and Greek in Portland, Oregon, for two years before entering Harvard Medical School. After completing the three-year Harvard course in two years, he passed a competitive examination and was appointed an intern…

  • Void’s flame

    Xuchu LiBeijing, China In late autumn’s golden embrace,scarlet maple leaves softly caress you,a mild exhaustion sensed,a months-long struggle persists.The tumors burgeon and spread like violet flamesupon your withered, skeletal frame—a desolate scene, frail and lame.Each breath feeds its growth.Scalding sweat on your brow,defiant tears in your eyes, unable to dispel it.Yet you fight, through dawn…

  • Robert Pope’s painting, Mountain

    P. Ravi ShankarKuala Lumpur, Malaysia Robert Pope, a Canadian artist, left behind an important collection of work dealing with illness and healing. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1956, he died of Hodgkin’s disease in 1992. He has created a series of paintings and sketches about his experience as a cancer patient.1 His painting, Mountain,…

  • No one is speaking

    Nina SokolDenmark A translated excerpt from the poetry collection No One Is Speaking by Danish writer Birte Kont, depicting when her husband underwent cancer treatment. The collection has received considerable praise in Denmark in its honest portrayal of what loved ones and close kin endure when a family member is diagnosed with cancer. The loved…

  • Napoleon’s final illness

    JMS PearceHull, England Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the French island of Corsica on August 15, 1769. His colorful life, illnesses, and military exploits have been extensively recorded.1 On 17 October 1815, after the forty-five-year-old Napoleon’s famous defeat near Waterloo, the allies banished him to St. Helena, a subtropical island in the South Atlantic Ocean,…

  • The history of fertility preservation in young people with cancer

    Terrence StephensonLondon, England A whole cohort of cancer survivors owe both their lives and the conception of their children to a group of pediatric oncologists and colleagues from many disciplines spanning medicine, science, and the humanities. Their work brought to fruition and revolutionized the long-term care of childhood cancer survivors around the world and is…

  • Diary of a doctor

    Perpetual Enefuwa SalamiBenin City, Nigeria The following is a work of fiction. It was my first day working as a resident physician at Emis Clinic. I recall crying my eyes out the day I finally received a transfer letter. I was elated, accidentally booted my dog to the next room whilst dancing in excitement. I’d…

  • Soul power

    Shannon Adams-Hartung Chicago, Illinois, United States Soul food has deep historical, cultural, and economic roots in the African American community. Much of the cuisine affiliated with modern-day soul food dates back to the era of American slavery. Before the fourteenth century, the African diet was primarily vegetarian. Meat was used sparingly in comparison to various…

  • Romantique

    Jonathan B. FerriniLa Jolla, California, United States “I live in a world of spring showers of acrylic and watercolor droplets painting the score on the pavement of a Chopin nocturne.” These were the last words my brother Marshal spoke to me ten years ago at our dad’s funeral. I welcomed the opportunity to see him…

  • A celebrated occasion

    Eli EhrenpreisChicago, Illinois, United States She arrives at the office early, looking as if she stepped from a portrait. Her blue eyes glimmer with tears. “My gynecologist has been treating me for hemorrhoids, but the bleeding has been getting worse. It started when I had my boys.” This is not usually a serious problem at…