Hooked on Rheum with Roy Fleischmann, MD
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Growing up, I had an aunt with rheumatoid arthritis. In those days, there were few effective treatments. By the time she was in her 40s, she was confined to a wheelchair. She died at age 54 from complications of the disease. This was in the 1960s, and there was little that doctors could do for her.
When I reached medical school, it seemed that the best teachers I had in my training were rheumatologists. They made the field very interesting to me.
One of those teachers was Dr. Harry Bienenstock and the other was Dr. Harry Spiera. They had genuine excitement about making the correct diagnosis. Then, once the diagnosis was made, they would do anything to help their patients function better, even at a time when, as I mentioned, we had few therapeutic options and limited resources. They dedicated their lives to helping their patients.
It was because of these two reasons that I wanted to go into rheumatology — particularly clinical research — to develop safer and more effective medications for patients with RA. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to do those things in my career.
Roy Fleischmann, MD
Clinical professor of medicine
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center