Finding Doctor Right

You’ve heard of speed dating to find a mate.

Well, Presbyterian Healthcare is inviting you to speed date for a doctor.

The hospital system’s first “Find Dr. Right” session will be Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. at Providence Café, 110 Perrin Place.

Obstetrician-gynecologists will be available to meet with participants one-on-one for three minutes each. The event is free. Appetizers and drinks will be provided.

Other hospitals across the country have hosted similar events to give people the chance to meet potential physicians face-to-face. Participating doctors are Navin Bhojwani, Claire Bowles, Noelle Clarke and Gregory Reynolds of Bradford Clinic, Mark Bland, Thor Svendsen and Simon Ward of Rankin Women’s Center, Caudrean Avery, Chris Danner and Jennie Hauschka of Mintview OB/GYN, Gregory Parker of Midtown OB/GYN, Lisa Wilson of Providence OB/GYN.

For more information: www.presbyterian.org/doctorright. Space is limited. Registration is required: 704-384-2273.

Let's talk about end-of-life care

There has been enough talk about death panels and too little talk about end-of-life care.

As I typed those words, a new e-mail popped across my computer from Art Caplan, a nationally known medical ethicist from the University of Pennsylvania.

We had both read the new policy statement from the American Society of Clinical Oncology urging doctors to talk with patients about their end-of-life wishes.

Here's a link to Caplan's blog on MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41460373/ns/health-health_care/

And here are some other links to get you started.

ASCO offers a free booklet, "Advanced Cancer Care Planning," to help initiate candid discussions between patients, their families and physicians about treatment options, including palliative care. You can download the booklet from the society's patient web site: http://www.cancer.net/.

Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region also offers many helpful resources on its web site: http://www.hpccr.com. Click on "Information for patients, families & the community" to read more about palliative care. Or try "Professional and Community Education" for information about advance care planning documents such as living wills and health care powers of attorney. At "About us," you can find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQS).

Carolinas Center for End of Life Care also offers plenty of help at http://www.carolinasendoflifecare.org/.

Stories of Survivorship Calendar

Joshua Stein has survived testicular cancer since 2008.

Carol Solomon has survived colon cancer since 2004.

Morris Nicholson has survived prostate cancer since 2002.

They are among the 12 cancer survivors pictured in the 2011 calendar published by Presbyterian Buddy Kemp Cancer Support Center.

The idea for the calendar started several years ago with Tiffany Young, a clinical social worker at Buddy Kemp, where survivors gather regularly. Others at Presbyterian ran with her suggestion, and they now ask cancer center employees every year to nominate patients whose personal stories have touched them. The project has become extremely popular with hospital staff, who nominated about 80 survivors this year.

The result is a "Stories of Survivorship" calendar with striking photographs by Kori Hoffman - mostly black and white with touches of pink, orange, red, green and blue - of smiling survivors.

To obtain a free calendar, call Buddy Kemp Cancer Support Center, 704-384-5223, or pick one up at 242 Colonial Ave., Charlotte. (www.presbyterian.org/buddykemp)

Donations are accepted to provide emergency assistance to cancer survivors through the Hand-in-Hand Fund.