Letters to the Editor
Speaking the Same
Language
“Why not address the
excessive use of ‘going
forward’ or ‘moving
forward’ when speaking in
the future tense?”
—JOSÉ A. LÓPEZ, MD
Challenge accepted
The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center
is taking on Kentucky and Appalachia’s cancer challenge
February 2016 Editor’s Corner
dear dr. sekeres:
I greatly enjoyed reading your clever
and humorous article on genderneutral pronouns and other language
usage. I write a fair amount, but
lately much of my writing consists of
editing and modifying what others
have written. I invariably strike out
modifiers of “unique” and replace
“utilize” and “utilization” with “use”
(yooz) or “use” (yoos) – unless changing it will harm the ego of the person
being edited more than leaving it in
will annoy me.
While we are on the topic of the
use of “currently” when writing or
speaking in the present tense, why
not address the excessive use of
“going forward” or “moving forward”
when speaking in the future tense?
Or, more generally, why not address
the impact of what can lovingly be
called “corporate bull” on the language of medicine and academics?
Thank you for caring about words
and usage. Keep up the good work.
—José A. López, MD
Chief Scientific Officer
Bloodworks Northwest
Professor of Medicine and
Biochemistry
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Have a comment about an article? Let
us know what you think; we welcome
your feedback. Email the editor at
[email protected].
ASHClinicalNews.org
Kentucky faces an enormous challenge. Our state, and specifically the Appalachian
area of the Commonwealth, has both the highest incidence of cancer and the
highest cancer mortality rate in the country.
Although the challenges are significant, so too are our efforts to fight this disease.
To learn more about what Markey is doing to lessen the toll cancer takes on patients
and their families, visit ukhealthcare.uky.edu/ChallengeAccepted.
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