SHADES OF DOCTOR HELL

Secter concluded that he had been processed by a flawed system, but it seems to me that his misfortune (in addition to his diagnosis) was being denied a chance to establish a relationship with someone who cared and could help.

Sick people need understanding, expertise and compassion. But compassion does not exist in any system, and it never will. As a society, we will succeed if we foster these virtues in our healers and make them available to those in need.

MARTIN K. GELBARD, MD

Burbank