And just when I thought I have successfully scheduled an entire week just for writing, I realized that many of my patients’s chemotherapy sessions would have to be scheduled on the Monday of that week. I said, ok maybe the writing week could just be from Tuesday to Sunday. I’ve been having trouble squeezing in writing during clinics with the patient load and all, and I had to intentionally set aside a week for it. But my secretary said more patients had to be scheduled, until finally the week got reduced to Friday to Sunday. I hang my head in shame and said I’d try again later in the month.

Another thing keeping me busy these days are the diplomate board exams of those who have just completed their oncology fellowship training, a 2-3 year program in different hospitals in the Philippines. I have been recruited to be one of the examiners this year, and I never thought doing a certifying board exam was this intensive. I had to submit questions, go in front of the committee to present them, and they would give their comments and suggestions. Sometimes the questions would altogether be made “ligwak”. This would go on for 3 to 4 rounds, until finally we finalize the 300-item written exam and 2-case oral exams. We spent six months all in all to complete the exams.

I hoped that yesterday’s clinic would be light so I could work on the oral exams, until my secretary said there were 9 patients. Eeeek. And i had an appointment with my barber Marcus in an hour too. Just when I thought I could no longer be shocked by patients and relatives’ questions the daughter of a patient with colon cancer asked me, “Dok, alin po ang may cancer, yung colon, o yung pasyente?” I didn’t know if I should approach the question in a philosophical, arithmetic (transitive property, a=b b=c a=c), or existential manner, but I was already too spent at that time, there were many patients in the queue, and I would be losing my spot in my barbershop.

“Yung pasyente po,” I said in the kindest way I could.

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