With Mirth and Laughter: Finding Joy in Medicine After Cancer: 2 (Mirth in Medicine) - Softcover

Thompson Buum M.D., Heather

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1941049559 ISBN 13: 9781941049556

Publisher: Joshua Tree Publishing, 2019

Synopsis

In 2016, as a practicing internist Dr. Heather Thompson is diagnosed with breast cancer and must abruptly enter the healthcare system for the first time as a patient. Her experiences, observations, and process of growth and transformation are outlined in her first book, Mirth is God’s Medicine: Coping with Cancer as a Physician.

A continuation of the story, With Mirth and Laughter: Finding Joy in Medicine After Cancernow moves beyond the early days of breast cancer treatment, including surgery, medication, and physical therapy, and further describes how a cancer diagnosis impacts her friendships, family dynamics, teaching and mentoring roles. More importantly, it changes her practice style and view of what it means to provide patient centered care. This book includes story after story of patient interactions, some ironic, many humorous, but all poignant and compelling; they serve to illustrate how being in one role ultimately benefits the other.

Dr. Thompson also chronicles how becoming a patient changes her approach in how she teaches and trains future physicians. Those in academic medicine or in a teaching role of any kind can relate. Cancer survivors as well as health care providers will appreciate the observations and shift in perspective as she moves from doctor as patient to patient as doctor. All the while, Dr. Thompson maintains her keen sense of humor, sharing many amusing stories about primary care, academic medicine, and even the somewhat harrowing process of becoming a writer.

Dr. Heather Thompson Buum is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota in the Division of General Internal Medicine. She graduated from Hamline University in 1993 with a BA in biology, then went on to complete both medical school and residency at the University of Minnesota. She joined the faculty in 2002 and devotes half her time to patient care, practicing both outpatient primary care and inpatient hospital medicine. The remaining time, she spends in various teaching and administrative roles. She formerly served as an associate program director for the internal medicine residency and now is a course director for Human Health and Disease and a small group facilitator for Essentials of Clinical Medicine in the medical school. Dr. Thompson has won numerous awards for both teaching and patient care, including Outstanding Medical School Teacher in 2016, the Department of Medicine Clinical Excellence Award in 2013, and Minnesota Monthly’s Top Doctors for Women in 2013 and 2011. She is a member of the Society for General Internal Medicine and a fellow in the American College of Physicians. Her outside interests include choral music, performing with the Oratorio Society of Minnesota for over twenty years. She also enjoys cooking, running, and an occasional round of golf. She lives with her husband and two children in St. Paul.

About this title

Review:

“From her own encounter and suffering with breast cancer, Dr. Thompson fashions a heartfelt, sharply-observed account of how her life changed for the better, and better doctoring. Her expertise in medicine is stretched to understand how to be a patient/doctor, and then movingly extends to her journey to learn and practice good connection with other patients. She’s a beacon to her practice, her students, and her family. The book is a primer on empathy between doctor and patient. A vibrant, touching, honest work.”
—Samuel Shem, M.D., Professor of Medicine at NYU Medical School, author of The House of God and the upcoming sequel, Man’s 4th Best Hospital

“This is a book in two conjoined parts by the author, a doctor, whose first response to the discovery of her breast cancer was shock, confusion, and fear. Oddly enough, that tumor discovery is the event (for a gifted mind and spirit such as hers) that allows her to provide the very best attention to her care, for both her patients and her teaching of younger doctors and medical students. She is, by her experience, the deeply understanding physician who seeks, as is evidenced during the second part of her story, to augment care of her patients by the most important tool any doctor can have: empathy. Empathy is not sympathy, nor ‘niceness’, nor even clinical excellence. It is, rather, the knowledge that whatever the patient is suffering can be recognized in a short sentence: ‘It could be me’ because, in fact, it was her. This book is well worth reading, not just for doctors and patients, but for all who care about the suffering of others.”
—Faith Fitzgerald, M.D., MACP, Professor of Medicine at UC-Davis and frequent contributor to On Being a Doctor, Annals of Internal Medicine

“How delightful it was for me, years after my breast cancer diagnosis, to read the words of a physician who walked the same path. Dr. Thompson’s ability to successfully choreograph her profession, family, and provide self-care was beautifully displayed in With Mirth and Laughter. As an author, I admire Dr. Thompson’s resolve and fervency to pen her experiences and touch the world in ways only she could. As a pastor, I especially applaud her open and bold expressions of faith in God that carried her through this challenge and still does to this day. For any patient, With Mirth and Laughter presents an opportunity to learn the arduous task of being a physician while wrestling with cancer. It was a reminder for me to lend compassion and patience in return to the health care professionals who so sincerely care, and who have their own stories. I highly recommend this read to all people whose world has been interrupted by cancer. You will be enlightened, encouraged and comforted.”
—Teresa E. Nelson, breast cancer survivor, Pastor of Tibbetts Brook Chapel and author of Tender Mercies for Tough Moments

 

About this edition

• Publisher: Joshua Tree Publishing
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1941049559
• ISBN 13: 9781941049556
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 218