Full of excuses

Of the many clients I see, there's this one doctor who is always so full of himself and makes no secret about it. In fact, each time I (and anyone else for that matter) see him, he has not once failed to broadcast repeatedly how great he is as an international medical oncologist. How he is the only competent person in the field and his expertise extended far beyond those of other clinical oncologists and how the rest are just jokers whose prescribing practices and competency are questionable, non-evidence based.

Psychologically, this of course tells you one thing, that in the abscence of other people's acknowledgement, boastfullness is a way of self-assuring himself of his worth. He uses self exalting words like being the only competent one, the best, evidence based, well informed decision making. So evidence based is he that he insisted, if any of us were to detail any updates or clinical papers, don't bother if its anything short of phase 3 trial. When we come to him with phase 3 trials, he added a criteria, that he'll listen to matured phase 3 trials, and when we come with matured phase 3 data, he settled with, "well, I'm not convinced".

Just happens he is the only one so far who's not convinced with my very good, very significant data. All the other oncologists around the world are using my drug like tap water, even the very best ones in the world. Especially the very best ones in the world; people known globally for being the Mother of breast cancer, or the Professor of Colon cancer, great names in the field of medical oncology. In fact, the more competent and intelligent they are, the more they fight to be involved in clinical trials involving my drug. And so good the data are consistently across indications that there are more than a hundred trials of it globally right now. Truth is, he just doesn't have patients to start with. He can't very well say he's convinced and not start so against all the odds, he had to say he isn't convinced.

But today, he finally said he would start a patient on my drug. Surprisingly it was based only on a case study. Not phase 4, not phase 3, not phase 2, not phase 1 and not even an extensive research paper. A mere case study of 2 patients with angiosarcoma (that's not even an approved indication for my drug to begin with). It's not that I'm not grateful (even if I can do with no new patients now coz I'm already overhitting my target), but I'm just surprised he didn't realize how he's eating his own words back. The publication apparently gave good data as in one of the two had complete remission for over 2 years and counting. the other, 8 months and counting. It finally took him a mere case study of two patients to start using it in an indication so rare, he's the only one so far who plans to do so. I'm hoping for the patient's sake, it works and she gets better survival benefit. And for his sake, this doctor will eventually realize he needs to stop making lame excuses, to step up, be a man and admit you don't have the volume of patients that will enable you to start.

But for many related reasons to the things mentioned in the first two paragraph of this post, he has announced he plans to leave the hospital for greener pastures where people respect him more as a INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ONCOLOGIST (in his very own words, with stresses). Apparently the current hospital management too thinks he's full of craps. As with a lot of the other players in the industry.

Oh well, I really shouldn't complain. I can tolerate him being an airhead knowing where it all comes from. Plus, if he starts, and when he does start (this is not a certainty as yet), I can only say thank you, no matter how distasteful his attitude is on the whole. He is pretty amusing, especially when you are feeling a little generous about having pity.