Tag Archives: medicine

“The Tiger’s Wife” by Téa Obreht

War and death are intertwined with mythical surrealism in this author's debut novel

When Téa Obreht wrote “The Tiger’s Wife,” she was a 25-year-old student studying at Cornell University. Born in Yugoslavia, Obreht was heavily influenced by the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s. To escape from the conflict, her family left Yugoslavia for Egypt, then … Continue reading

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Pills Can’t Stop the Inevitable: The Candy Art of Felix Gonzalez-Torres

An artist shows his audience the futility of fighting death

The late artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres was no stranger to the issue of mortality. In one of his works, he tackled the subject of death from the perspective of HIV/AIDS patients, depicting scenes of empty beds on billboards. Earlier in his … Continue reading

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Healing (the Spirit) Through Plants

Ayahuasca is one of many Amazonian plants with tremendous healing potential, which is why people are talking about it

What is the difference between a drug and a medicine? We use the terms interchangeably, though drugs are more readily labeled as illicit substances that lead people down a path of psychological addiction and abuse. Medicine is viewed as a synthetic, … Continue reading

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God’s Hotel by Victoria Sweet

Dr. Victoria Sweet shares how medieval medicine and slow medicine can be used in modern hospitals to create life-changing experiences from which both doctors and patients can learn to grow

What is the most efficient strategy of providing health care? Should quality food and one-on-on doctor-patient care be replaced with high tech machines and fast-paced diagnostics? What does it truly take to turn a hospital into a community? God’s Hotel … Continue reading

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What is a Dementia Provision? An interview with Mike Turbow

Mike Turbow shares how his professional and personal experiences in dealing with death have helped seek out a solution to help others take control of their own deaths

Today SevenPonds talks with Mike Turbow, who has 40 years of experience as a practicing oncologist and more than 25 years of experience as a hospice medical director at Stanford University. Although he no longer practices medicine, Mike is an … Continue reading

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Should Doctors Guide us through the End of Life?

Oakland doctor Jessica Nutik Zitter reveals the medical industry's misguided attitude toward death

In a recent New York Times article, Oakland doctor Jessica Nutik Zitter advocates the need for doctors to receive training not only in saving lives, but also in facilitating death. Although they are trained to respond to a “code blue,” … Continue reading

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