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My Doc Says I Have Heartworm (Or Was It Heartburn?)
Once, when I was a young doctor, I saw an elderly lady in urgent care who complained of severe constipation. She’d already seen several doctors but with no luck. I confidently put her on some stuff...
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Who Needs Doctors, Anyway?
If you think it’s hard to get an appointment with a family doctor now, just wait until you’re a little older. By 2025, it’d really be best if you avoided getting sick altogether. That’s when America...
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How Doctors Die
Years ago, Charlie, a highly respected orthopedist and a mentor of mine, found a lump in his stomach. He had a surgeon explore the area, and the diagnosis was pancreatic cancer. This surgeon was one of...
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Doctors Really Do Die Differently
In late 2011, I wrote an essay for Zócalo called “How Doctors Die.” Drawing on my observations and experiences as a doctor, I reported that doctors tend to seek less end-of-life care than ordinary...
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Going Gentler Into That Good Night
We all know we’re going to die, but we don’t want to talk about it–or plan for it. As a result, we take–and ask our healthcare providers to take–extraordinary measures to prolong our lives and those of...
View ArticleKen Murray
Dr. Ken Murray is the author of “How Doctors Die” and a retired family medicine physician and professor at the University of Southern California. Before participating in a panel on end-of-life care, he...
View ArticleHey, World! Someday L.A. Won’t Need Your Water
As a nation, we dream of energy independence. But in Los Angeles, we wouldn’t dream of water independence. The growth and prosperity of our city has been largely defined by our ability to access large...
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Mentally Ill, Yet Packing Heat
I’m a family doctor. I’ve spent decades taking care of all sorts of people, including many with mental illness. If at any time I encounter a person who is making a credible threat against someone else,...
View ArticleWhy California’s Trails Are Disappearing From Our Maps
One of the great things about living in California’s Central Valley is the easy access to one of the great mountain ranges of the world, the Sierra Nevada, and its beautiful forests. Unfortunately,...
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When Your Doctor Is Drunk
Larry was a doctor trainee at a hospital where I taught in Burbank. I recommended that he not pass, due to very poor preparation and work habits. But he did, and set up practice nearby. He had trouble...
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