Patient stories Archives

What My Second Lease on Life Taught Me about the Power of Human Connection

by Eric Bersh | Aug 17, 2023

I was born with a congenital heart defect called bicuspid aortic stenosis with regurgitation. When I was 12 years old I was told I needed immediate open-heart surgery. As the anxiety, depression and sheer terror set in, my family tried to distract me by taking me on...

Through the Maze: A New Model for Equitable Health Data Exchange

by Eric Bersh | Jun 6, 2023

My brother Jacob was born with a chronic neurological condition that caused him permanent physical and mental disabilities. As the only other child in a single parent family, I was often with Jacob during his frequent hospital stays and doctor visits. It is through...

Glimmers of Hope: Real Progress In Participatory Medicine

by Eric Bersh | May 2, 2023

Twenty-five years ago, I learned I had a large liposarcoma in my left quadricep. I have written elsewhere about my surprise when my surgeon informed me that he and the team had changed the treatment plan. What team? Who are these people? Why wasn’t I at the team...

AI Gives SPM a New Opportunity to Lead

by Eric Bersh | Apr 6, 2023

I recently posted an article entitled, “In Cancer, Patient-Empowering AI Begins to Change Care, Relationships,” that contained this declaration, “Good medicine needs to become participatory medicine, not least because involving the patient as a partner consistently...

A Citizen’s Response Corps for Digital Health

by Eric Bersh | Nov 15, 2022

Editor’s note: In his new book, The Long Haul – Solving the Puzzle of the Pandemic’s Long Haulers and How They Are Changing Healthcare Forever, journalist and patient Ryan Prior depicts the courage of patients with Long COVID who were the first to name,...

Storytelling: Where Compassion is Born

by John Novack | Oct 6, 2022

Editor’s note: In this excerpt from her latest book, Ducks in a Row, Canadian-based author, Sue Robins explains the power of storytelling for everybody invested in health care—patients and clinicians alike. A well-told story, Robins explains, has the ability to...