I wore a wig for a year after I had a stem cell transplant. The wig wasn’t for vanity as much as not wanting to be defined by having had chemotherapy. I didn’t want a label, stigma, judgment, or pity. I’ve written a pamphlet for surgeons on Avoiding Unconscious Bias ,1 and I know that being perceived to fit in is sometimes easier than being your authentic self. Returning to work as a surgeon, I treasured each interaction with patients, working alongside colleagues old and new, in a role I thought I’d never do again.
In medicine, and more widely, we’re stuck in a paradox. We have access to excessive amounts of information, yet simple messages get drowned out. Through my experience as both a patient and a surgeon I’ve come to value clearly communicated …