Daniel C. McFarland, DO

He came to our large, urban teaching hospital in search of a cure for his stomach cancer. We met during the workup stage of his care while he was suffering from intractable nausea, yet we still needed test results before we would know what kind of treatment we could offer.

He spoke deliberately, taking me back more than 3 years. There was a lump in his neck and a delay in his diagnosis of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related tongue cancer. Eventually, he had his surgery, but decided not to receive adjuvant chemotherapy/targeted therapy, and then moved across the country.

My task: teach the residents about oncology. I attempted to impart my newly found knowledge about hematology and oncology to this group of wonderful (even more neophyte than myself), physicians.