Pulling Back the Curtain: Gerald A. Soff, MD
an empathic, caring physician. I’d like
to think that I now have a little more
insight into my patients’ experiences,
but I hope that I didn’t need to develop
my own cancer to learn a lesson about
empathy.
Honestly, this is the first time in my
life that I ever asked anybody to help
me with anything. I am the youngest of
three sons, and I joke that my dad didn’t
even know he had a third son until he
had to pay for my bar mitzvah lessons
because I never asked for anything.
When I was diagnosed with
myeloma, it was the first time in my
life I had to ask people, “Can you
help me?” So, being in a position of
having to ask people for help and see-
ing how people responded to those
requests was a real eye-opener. I
thought I had a good support system,
but I had never put it to the test.
“Being in a
position of
having to
ask people
for help
and seeing
how people
responded to
those requests
was a real
eye-opener.
... It showed
me the
importance
of simple
kindness.”
It showed me the importance
of simple kindness: If someone
asks you for something that might
be a small inconvenience for you,
remember that it is incredibly
meaningful to the person asking.
When I was undergoing prepar-
ing for the stem cell harvest before
my transplant, I needed someone to
drive me to the hospital to get my
leukapharesis catheter placed. My
wife could not come with me that day, so
I called a friend who had offered to help
and asked him for a ride. He got off the
phone, called his boss, and rearranged
his work schedule so he could drive me
to the hospital and bring me home when
I was ready. For him, it was a modest
inconvenience; for me, it was the most
magnificent thing in the world.
Another small example: I was in
synagogue one Saturday during the
initial cycles of treatment, feeling woozy
because I was having trouble eating. A
woman and her daughter came up to me
and said, “You don’t look so good. Can
we walk you home?” It was a simple act,
but to feel valued and loved as a friend
in that moment was wonderful. We need
to remember that the small gestures we
make as neighbors, friends, and health-
care providers can be so appreciated by
the patients at the other end.
Kogenate® FS: His life. His treatment.
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ASH Clinical News
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†
This pertains to Express Scripts’s National Preferred and Basic Formularies.
‡
The Kogenate FS Free Trial Program is available to newly diagnosed patients and patients who are currently using other therapy. Patients currently using Kogenate FS
are not eligible for the Free Trial Program. Participation in the Kogenate FS Free Trial Program is limited to 1 time only. The medication provided through this program
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Patients who have government insurance (Medicaid, Medicare, Tricare, VA/DOD) are not eligible for the Loyalty Program. The program does not guarantee that patients
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People with private, commercial health insurance may receive Kogenate FS co-pay or co-insurance assistance based on eligibility requirements. The program is on a
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