Everyday Oral Surgery Dr. Dan Tran: my experience being diagnosed with cancer in OMS residency
Until you show your patients that you care, it doesn’t matter to them how much you know; that is one of the biggest lessons that Dr. Dan Tran learned through his experience of being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer during his second-year residency. Another is that we never know how much time we have left on earth and it’s so important that we make time for the things and people we love. Although Dan has been living a close to normal life for the past three years thanks to a miracle drug he has been taking, it is unclear how long the power of the drug will last, and his future is very uncertain. As you’ll hear in today’s episode, Dan manages to stay positive amidst this uncertainty, and we can all learn a lot from his inspirational outlook, as well as his expertise as an oral surgeon and assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Key Points From This Episode:
- How Dan ended up in the academic world, after always thinking he would work in private practice.
- Dan’s main focus at the moment, and what he loves about his work.
- The initial symptoms of the cancer that Dan was later diagnosed with.
- What finally encouraged Dan to get an MRI, and the first thing he thought when he got the results.
- Procedures that Dan underwent following his diagnosis.
- The medication that Dan has been taking for three years, and the uncertainty of his future.
- Lessons that Dan has learned through his cancer diagnosis, from both a doctor and patient perspective.
- How Dan balances the things that are important to him, knowing that he may not have long to live.
- A mentor of Dan’s who still hovers over him in his mind.
- Why working with computers and 3D printing throughout his life has helped Dan in his career.
- There are always a team of people behind any success story
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: