Never too late to learn

Abstract

By Alexandr Solzhenitsyn Trans, by Nicholas Bethell and David Burg Dr. Ludmila Afanasyevna Dontsova has spent 30 years in medicine, including 20-some years in x-ray therapy and diagnosis. In deference to Dontsova's age and experience but also because of her strength and the nurturing guidance she provides to staff and patients alike, the residents in her department, all of whom are women under 30, refer to her as “Mother.” The following excerpt from the chapter “The Other Side of the Coin” describes her personal confrontation with cancer. Alexandr Solzhenitsyn was born in Russia in 1918. His works include the story “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” and the novels Cancer Ward and The Gulag Archipelago. He was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1970. Excerpt from Cancer Ward by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn; translated by Nicholas Bethell and David Burg. Translation © 1969 by The Bodley Head. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc. David H. Flood teaches humanities for students in medicine and the health sciences at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. Rhonda L. Soricelli is a graduate of the University of Sydney Medical School. She is director of the medical humanities program for the Department of Medicine, Hahnemann University, Philadelphia. Lisa R. Dittrich, of the Academic Medicine staff, is the editor of “furthermore.”