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It might seem strange to run a series called ‘The Art of Oncology‘, especially if you’re the Journal of Clinical Oncology. But this is what they have: fairly short articles, written by oncologists, talking about the experiences and the humanity of cancer specialists.

My attention was drawn to the series (which appears to be open access, by the way) by way of an evaluation from James Feusner and Bindu Kanathezhath at the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute. The paper, Can literature enhance oncology training? A pilot humanities curriculum¹ describes an attempt to develop a narrative-based curriculum that might help the oncologists themselves cope with the stress of caring for patients with cancer.

Once in a while we all need a break, or a new vision, or a different item to eat, or a new route to work. Sort of like when you suddenly are tired of ‘meat and potatoes’ and, unbelievable as it may seem to your mother, you crave vegetables.

The rest of the series is also well worth dipping into. For example, there is Daniel Rayson on how difficult it is to say what his job is; Reena George learns from her patience about courage, grief, hope and gratitude; and Mikkael Sekeres ties together flipping burgers with curing leukemia–a story to read to the very end for the unexpected link between cardboard boxes and leukaemia.

A fascinating and touching insight into the art of the practice, and some very moving stories. Taking a more conventional view of the effects of cancer–that is, on the patients and their loved ones–you might know that American poet Jane Kenyon died from leukemia. Her husband, Donald Hall, describes how her illness influenced his own poetry, in this video from Web of Stories.

Daybreak until nightfall,
he sat by his wife at the hospital
while chemotherapy dripped
through the catheter into her heart.

–from Her long illness, in Without.