Third Patient Reflection

This week I found myself struggling with what appears to me as two very blurred lines in medicine. How much or how little should physicians care for their patients without becoming attached or appearing aloof? Is it a physician’s responsibility to provide comfort in the midst of dying or should teamwork with a counselor or chaplain be sufficient? These are questions I don’t have the answers to, but I am hopeful that throughout the duration of this course I may gain a better understanding of how to answer these questions for myself.
The third patient Dr. Ylitalo and I visited was a 75 year old man who has struggled with reoccurring bladder cancer. He and his wife seemed to keep their calm composure during the appointment, but it was evident