Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: glioblastoma multiforme

  • Life lessons from death

    Pedro T. LimaRecife, Brazil “How would you like to die?” the professor asked without breaking eye contact. I averted my gaze to ponder the question, but no answers came to mind. “I’ve never thought about it. I guess that I would hope to be with people I love,” I stuttered, still collecting my thoughts. “You…

  • “The GBM in Room 9”: On the objectifying power of naming and diagnosing

    Atara MessingerToronto, Ontario, Canada I wheeled the patient through the double doors into the operating room. As I parked the hospital bed next to the operating table, I quickly glanced at the patient’s chart. NAME: ‘J.’ AGE: 28. HISTORY: Progressive headaches, visual changes, and right-sided weakness. IMAGING: MRI of the brain shows contrast-enhancing mass with…

  • The human brain: writer of our stories

    Jaleed GilaniKarachi, Pakistan “What if I told you that this world around us, this richly textured world, were all just an illusion constructed in your head?” asks eminent neuroscientist David Eagleman in the brilliant documentary The Brain with David Eagleman.1 He then questions, “What if I said that the real world has no smell or taste…