"I don't want to see the specialist," my 72-year old patient said.
"I really think you should. It would help," I said.
"So tell me my diagnosis again," he said.
I hesitated. I knew where this was going.
"You have Cancer of the lungs with possible spread to the liver," I said slowly.
"So what stage is it?" he persisted.
"Staging is done after biopsies and further scans. But it has spread beyond the primary organ," I replied.
"So what can the oncologist do for me? Prolong my life? Be truthful, I have known you for a long time Doc," he said. His smile blunted the seriousness of the situation.
"There's a lot they can do these days. They can definitely add time," I said.
"But at what cost? Add some miserable, painful months versus less time, but fulfilling and with happier moments?"
"It's not always like that. You should consult this specialist and have this conversation there," I said.
"Quality over quantity, Doc. Always quality over quantity," he repeated.
And as it happens so many times, there are certain words that stick with me. My patients, my friends, my acquaintances often inspire me unknowingly. They will do or say something that will touch me. Extrapolate these words to life. Take a work place. Google is a prime example. Their offices in Northern California encourage a relaxed workplace. Its not the amount of time you spend in the office, its how you spend it. They have relaxation sessions, sleep pods, congenial atmosphere, in house gym, informal attire among many other perks.
Our friends, family and acquaintances number in the hundreds. But on how many can you rely on? The real test of reliability is in real situations. Depth of friendship does not depend on the length of time you know the person. As always, it is the quality over quantity. As we grow in years, most people will realize that it is less important to have more friends, and more important to have a few, but real friends.
As we go through life with our peers, we bond and build relationships. People who understand that it is okay to grow separately, without growing apart, will have life long, quality relationships. We all have a lot of friends and family who we party with, but we all also know in our hearts, that come crunch time, whom are we going to call.
"When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "Happy." They told me I didn't understand the assignment. I told them they didn't understand life." ~ John Lennon
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