Swimming in materials!

Good news: an attorney, pharmacy, a realty office, and a nephrologist and several patients will be supporting Denim Day! (And a big high five to our favorite patient, her husband and her father.... hang in there, we'll get you through this).

In our office, we have patients with all sorts of needs. It's a big range, from hernias, hemorrhoids to cancers that vary from pancreatic to breast. The cancer patients are our favorites. I'd trade ten gallstone patients for a cancer patient anyday. Facing operations and chemo, they tend to get their priorities straight. They're grateful, they say thank you. They love God, family, friends and their doctors, usually in that order. Cancer tends to strip all the frippery away that they used to worry about. They just want to get well, they just want to know what's next, how to manage their new situation.

One of the areas we've recently beefed up has been our literature. We have materials about about diet, breast cancer, cancer support groups in the lobby and exam rooms. We put them into the exam rooms because some people might not feel comfortable grabbing something about cancer in the lobby in front of total strangers.

I called the American Cancer Society and ordered some 'brochures.' The clerk on the phone was so enthusiastic and he had lots of suggestions. Thinking they'd be thin little brochures, I ordered 100 of each. Little did I know that they were sending booklets! Imagine my surprise when the UPS man delivered boxes and boxes of materials! Surrounded by colorectal, breast cancer, and support group materials, I realized I didn't have space in our small office for all of them. So add to my list of duties, that of ACS unofficial ambassador. I'm giving them to other doctors offices, and even nabbed the business development director of the local hospital next door. Those of you who will remember the year I ordered 100 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, thinking my daughter could sell them in my office after school, will laugh. It's the same scenario.