Telling Silences: A Doctor's Tales of Denial - Softcover
A bereaved widow seeks closure by accusing her departed husband’s physician. A doctor refuses to see what his own symptoms are telling him. A young woman risks amputation because she cannot face the emotional root of her affliction. Sometimes, the most threatening ailments patients endure spring from their own perilous denial. In short, what patients don’t tell their physician is as important as what they do. In his fifty-plus years as a physician, Hillel Halkin has encountered confounding cases in which denial wields a damning blow to the health of the patient. Telling Silences: A Doctor’s Tales of Denial is his collection of clinical stories that reveal how information suppressed by patients, loved ones, and even physicians can work to severely compound a condition. Using authoritative yet friendly and accessible layman’s language, the author’s deep compassion and intuition shine brightly throughout the manuscript, bringing a warm, human touch to these medical tales. Silenced by the painful realities or threatening implications of illness, some individuals create dangerous barriers that can seriously compromise diagnosis or treatment. Anyone fascinated by psychology, medicine, or the complexity of human interactions will be utterly engrossed in this probing reflection of the hand we play in our own health. Hillel Halkin is Professor Emeritus of medicine and clinical pharmacology at Tel Aviv University School of Medicine. Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, he is a graduate of the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem and did his post graduate training at the University of California Medical Centre in San Francisco.
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About the Author:
Hillel Halkin is Professor Emeritus of medicine and clinical pharmacology at Tel Aviv University School of Medicine. Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, he is a graduate of the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem and did his post graduate training at the University of California Medical Centre in San Francisco.
From Kirkus Reviews:
A superb collection of real-life medical mysteries.
Patients and doctors can both have blind spots. For example, a doctor will occasionally make or refute a diagnosis based on nothing more than pride, despite a career’s worth of experience. Patients, however, sometimes troublingly deny obvious symptoms or refuse to divulge relevant information. In most cases, these patient behaviors lead to prolonged illness and pain or, in the worst cases, a patient’s death. In these nine beautifully written, captivating case studies, Halkin presents true stories of patient denial from his own experience as a physician. These complicated medical mysteries concern not only the body, but also psychological, often subconscious motives. In one such case, a young executive presents with symptoms of a rare, life-threatening ailment called Gaucher’s disease, including a yearlong low-grade fever. The patient and his wife claim that he’s never been diagnosed—until after he is prepped for an invasive procedure, when he suddenly, calmly claims says that he remembers the diagnostic tests. It turns out that after the prior diagnosis, which should have had the couple rethinking their lives, they had continued as though the doctor had told them all was well and suppressed the memory. Halkin asks: Is this behavior self-destruction or self-preservation? The author uses his formidable psychological insight not only to understand his patients’ and colleagues’ baffling behavior, but also to analyze himself (“Could I have put their right to denial before my responsibility to warn them as best I could?”). Although readers may find it chilling to consider that patients could purposely subvert their own diagnoses and treatments, they may find it illuminating to read about the complex dance of trust and fear in doctor-patient relationships.
Riveting, revealing stories of patient denial.
Patients and doctors can both have blind spots. For example, a doctor will occasionally make or refute a diagnosis based on nothing more than pride, despite a career’s worth of experience. Patients, however, sometimes troublingly deny obvious symptoms or refuse to divulge relevant information. In most cases, these patient behaviors lead to prolonged illness and pain or, in the worst cases, a patient’s death. In these nine beautifully written, captivating case studies, Halkin presents true stories of patient denial from his own experience as a physician. These complicated medical mysteries concern not only the body, but also psychological, often subconscious motives. In one such case, a young executive presents with symptoms of a rare, life-threatening ailment called Gaucher’s disease, including a yearlong low-grade fever. The patient and his wife claim that he’s never been diagnosed—until after he is prepped for an invasive procedure, when he suddenly, calmly claims says that he remembers the diagnostic tests. It turns out that after the prior diagnosis, which should have had the couple rethinking their lives, they had continued as though the doctor had told them all was well and suppressed the memory. Halkin asks: Is this behavior self-destruction or self-preservation? The author uses his formidable psychological insight not only to understand his patients’ and colleagues’ baffling behavior, but also to analyze himself (“Could I have put their right to denial before my responsibility to warn them as best I could?”). Although readers may find it chilling to consider that patients could purposely subvert their own diagnoses and treatments, they may find it illuminating to read about the complex dance of trust and fear in doctor-patient relationships.
Riveting, revealing stories of patient denial.
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- PublisherCreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
- Publication date2013
- ISBN 10 1490423524
- ISBN 13 9781490423524
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages212
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Telling Silences: A Doctor's Tales of Denial
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ISBN 10: 1490423524
ISBN 13: 9781490423524
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