Giving thanks

As always Thanksgiving is a time for me to reflect on the many blessings in my life and the very fragile nature of our health. One thing that being an oncologist does, it teaches you to savor the good days - the healthy days, the happy days, even the hectic days. So, I bring you five things I am thankful for:

I am thankful that the relatively small benefit of mammograms is getting some press and I hope this encourages people to seek better screening tests and treatments rather than more mammograms.
I am thankful that I had previously decided to always list all of my funding sources for my research rather than just the one or two I think are more directly relevant as that appears to be in line with the newest thinking about conflict of interest disclosure at the NCI.
I am thankful I wasn't a medical student in the era of Twitter and Facebook! Some things are just not meant to publicly shared, after all.
I am thankful that doctor's visits with patients are getting longer during the last decade! As my mentor told me, the best part of our job is what happens behind closed exam doors and the more time I can spend doing that during my clinic days, the better for me and for the patients.
Last but not least, I am thankful that you take the time out of your busy lives to read my blog. I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving!