The Patient Doctor

At the age of twenty-eight Ben Bravery woke from a colonoscopy to be told he had stage 3 colorectal cancer. As a scientist Ben understood the seriousness of his condition. But what he didn't expect was how being a patient would make him FEEL. Why hadn't he been better prepared for the vulnerability of lying naked on the radiation table or the sheer number of tubes coming out of his body after surgery? Why did it feel like an imposition to ask doctors about his pain on their ward rounds? And why did he have to repeat the same information to them over and over again? During his treatment Ben felt scared overwhelmed sometimes invisible and often alone. As he recovered it struck him that he couldn't go back to his former career. He needed a change - and wanted to MAKE a change. He would become a doctor . . .