J. Edward Les, MD -- We must fight with ferocity; but we must fight with intelligence. Flattening the curve isn’t enough. We must level it, knock it to the ground; and then keep it there
T he neurosurgeon swept into the room where my wife had been waiting for twelve tension-filled hours. “I have good news and bad news,” he announced. “The good news is that I was able to remove most of his brain tumor.” My wife sagged with relief. “What’s the bad news?” she asked. “The bad news,” he said, “is that your husband died on the operating table.” I’m not actually writing to you from beyond the grave. In truth, that neurosurgeon had only good news for my wife that March evening in Toronto. The malignant growth that upended my life had shoved aside my brainstem and thrust its malignant tentacles deep into my brain. But it stood no chance in the face of my neurosurgeon’s skill and tenacity. He extricated the bulk of the unwelcome invader and left me largely intact, well-positioned to begin the long road to recovery. He purposely left some residual tumor behind, wrapped around a key artery to my brain. Aggressively remov...