I’ve left several comments that Maha’s blog has eaten, so I don’t know if this will go through or not 🙂 Over the time that my comments have been eaten, the discourse has moved beyond the original “numbers” conversation to one of medical care. Regarding numbers, to summarize what I typed out before, I think you proved my point beautifully when talking about how your oncologist used numbers to his/her own end…my point being that numbers-like any human technology (language, for instance)-are powerful and as emotional as the human wielding them and therefore should be treated with respect and nuance.

Regarding your medical care, I am sorry for your experience and your current situation. It is not a new viewpoint for me, but rather one that I’ve heard many times and embrace as a complementary narrative to my own. I am the doctor who got beat up by the system. You see many doctors complain (mostly rightfully, in my mind), that the lawyers, hospital administrators, and, yes, even some patients–the ones that threaten and bully –tie their hands and destroy any sort of healing relationship the doctors might want to create. Doctors are put on the defensive before they even leave residency. And then there are patients, like yourself, who tell what I believe to be the same story but from another perspective. I hear and believe your story. But like the qual/quant debate, the trick is to reframe the problem and focus on the system rather than the people. This is hard when you are currently in the process of being injured. I’m almost four years out from quitting medicine and it still gets my adrenaline pumping when I hear angry “medical people” stories. It takes an amazing amount of work for me – even four years out – to think things through. And I just walked away from my personal identity, five years of practice, and twelve years of training – I can’t imagine how it would be for you, given that this is about life and death, to step back from the argument for just a minute to reframe the question.

But I guarantee you that some of those “medical people” out there are hurting too. Not all – but then not all patients are hurting, either. Beating up on the other side – whether it’s doctors, quantitative researchers, etc. never works.

If you leave further comments here, I will definitely read them. I might not comment as I have some issues that are taking immediate priority. But I will definitely read them.