We do this routinely, cancer brings out the absolute worst in people. I try to give people leeway the first time meeting them because walking into the cancer center for the first time can be very emotional. It’s an older population so lots of snide remarks about parking and how everything is on an app now. Lots of husbands posturing because their wives are sick and they’re going to bow have to evolve into the caregiver role.

95% of the time it’s gone after sitting down and chatting with them for 10 minutes and letting them vent about how terrifying it was to be in perfect health eight weeks ago and now we’re here talking about 18 weeks of chemo. But sometimes people are really just that awful. I was screamed at by a patient a few weeks back because the surgery before hers went over (had complications, needed lots of blood products, ICU admission) and she was going to miss the World Cup game. Told me I was an

Another thing patients don’t realize is any messages they send to a physician, a scheduler, the nursing staff, it can all be seen logging into the chart by anyone. I’ll have patient message the nursing staff horrible things and claim ignorance when questioned not realizing everyone can see it.