Medicine's science has advanced. Medicine's art has stalled.

<p>"I was a bit nervous about how she would perceive my advice. She could find it inappropriate and report me for making personal remarks. But I believe she sensed the sincerity in my words and appeared invigorated, uplifted, and excited. She was smiling now and exclaimed, 'Doctor, you will see now how I get my game on!' She asked me when her next scans would be, and I told her, 'First, you make an appointment at the hair salon, and I will schedule your next scans after that.' We struck a deal, and her body language changed. She jumped out of her chair and walked out of the room like a woman on a mission. A mission to look good. A mission to not feel ugly.</p> <p>I don’t know how much longer she has to live. She may have another two months or another two years. I will be ready to treat any symptom she gets from cancer, but I will also make sure that we do everything for her to feel beautiful. Just like she actually is."</p> <p><a href= "https://www.rochesterregional.org/physician-directory/i/imran-farhan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Farhan S. Imran</a> is a hematology-oncology physician who blogs at <a href="https://didiask.blog/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener nofollow noreferrer">Did I Ask?</a></p> <p>He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "<a href= "https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/04/after-all-the-years-of-medical-training-i-learned-how-to-treat-ugly-on-my-own.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After all the years of medical training, I learned how to treat ugly on my own</a>." (<a href= "https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/04/after-all-the-years-of-medical-training-i-learned-how-to-treat-ugly-on-my-own.html">https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/04/after-all-the-years-of-medical-training-i-learned-how-to-treat-ugly-on-my-own.html</a>)</p> <p><em>This episode is sponsored by <a href= "https://tradeoffs.org/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Tradeoffs</a>, available on your favorite podcast platform.</em></p>