by Carolyn Thomas ♥ Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)
Even as a fairly new breast cancer patient (diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma on April 1st, 2025), I knew I’d likely choose quality of life (QoL) over length of life (LoL) after my diagnosis. Continue reading “Quality of Life vs. Length of Life? Pick One.”
by Carolyn Thomas ❤️ Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)
I love this list. When Johns Hopkins University asked healthcare professionals to weigh in with their own lists of hurtful words that should no longer be used in patient care or medical charting, the responses were brilliant and thoughtful. Dr. Colleen Christmas, who teaches at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has this to say on why words matter so much to the patients hearing them.
“”Our medical language is filled with negativity and dehumanization.”
Here are some of my favourite examples of widely-used words that healthcare professionals themselves wish would go away – along with the thoughtful reasons these words can hurt patients (with thanks to the JHU Lifelong Learning in Clinical Excellence program): .
Continue reading “Words that hurt: which ones should be deleted from medicine – and why?”
by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters
You know the term “hedging your bets”? Basically, it’s defined by Oxford as “doing something to protect yourself against future problems.” It turns out that when doctors are not 100 per cent sure of the medical diagnosis they are about to share with a patient, researchers who study “diagnostic uncertainty” suggest that these docs tend to start hedging.
Continue reading ““Hedging” during diagnostic uncertainty”
by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters
I’ve been thinking about the time earlier this year when I (briefly) listed my condo for sale – before changing my mind about leaving this tiny perfect apartment. Basically, inviting prospective buyers into your home boils down to asking strangers to judge you.
In a way, that little real estate experience reminded me of what many patients living with a chronic yet invisible illness like heart disease share with my readers: feeling judged by others.
Heart Sisters 