“Someday you will be a doctor, Fazlur, and help people,” were the prophetic words of a mother to her son and the driving force behind the early quest of Fazlur Rahman, MD, to become a physician. Born and raised in what is now Bangladesh, he experienced the death of his mother at the young age of 7.

In Our Connected Lives: Caring for Cancer Patients in Rural Texas, Dr. Rahman shares the many experiences of a 35-year career in cancer practice, during which time he immersed himself into not just taking care of his patients’ challenging medical needs, but learning from his patients and getting to know their lives, their families, and the circumstances that made each patient unique. Although these stories focus on five particular patients with cancer treated by Dr. Rahman (two of whom are featured here), many of the valuable messages and lessons shared in the book are relevant to all individuals, whether they have cancer or not. Moreover, these five patients speak for cancer patients everywhere, for they all suffer and prevail in the same or similar ways, only some more and some less depending on their disease and their means and support. Rural patients face additional hurdles due to lack of medical facilities and oncologists.

Dr. Rahman emphasizes the importance of empathy in patient care, especially in cancer care. In the same vein, he urges nurturing empathy in clinical training by teaching medical humanities. “Empathy helps to build bonds between doctors and patients and lessens patients’ anxiety and distress; in turn, it improves patient satisfaction and clinical outcome,” he noted.

Meet Clara and J.D.

At the age of 39, Clara had a diagnosis of advanced multiple myeloma, with a poor prognosis. She was at first reluctant to undergo treatment but agreed when Dr. Rahman shared these comforting thoughts: “Remember, it’s a partnership in fighting this cancer, a partnership between you and your family and me.” Clara’s cancer journey was full of perils, but with the progress of myeloma treatment, she defied the odds, and at the age of 62, she was enjoying her grandchildren. “Clara reinforced in my mind,” Dr. Rahman wrote, “the value of hope and resilience in the face of bleakness.”

Empathy helps to build bonds between doctors and patients and lessens patients’ anxiety and distress; in turn, it improves patient satisfaction and clinical outcome.

— FAZLUR RAHMAN, MD

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The 46-year-old J.D. worked with heavy machinery as a foreman of a huge ranch. He initially presented with blurred vision in his left eye and a slightly increased white blood cell count. He tested positive on the BCR-ABL test and was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. J.D. started on imatinib and responded well. About a year later, he achieved complete molecular response.

“Doctors often forget that cancer patients face the same difficulties that the rest of us do; they have to carry the burdens of cancer along with the other burdens of living,” Dr. Rahman wrote. “At times, the non-cancer burdens can be heavier than the cancer itself. That’s what happened to J.D....”

When a big agricultural company bought his ranch, J.D. lost his job and his health insurance. When he got a new job in the oil fields, he had to live far from his home or a town, and it became impractical for him to continue his regular blood cell count monitoring. When he returned for a follow-up after a few months because of symptoms, his leukemia had relapsed. Although Dr. Rahman thought J.D. had developed resistance to imatinib, in reality, he had stopped taking imatinib because he could not get health insurance yet and wasn’t earning enough. “I couldn’t afford to spend $15,000 a month just on myself,” J.D. said. “I have to support [my wife] and our three children.”

Dr. Rahman stated: “J.D’s experience, like Clara’s, starkly outlined an issue that plagues cancer victims—the crushing economic burdens of the newer cancer drugs; sometimes you are forced to decide between saving your own life and having enough for your family to live on.”

Not Just a Person With a Disease

These compassionate tales are a blend of storytelling and cancer science. They illustrate Dr. Rahman’s personal reflections and struggles in making medical decisions that treat a patient as a whole person, not just as a person with a disease.

Our Connected Lives is a touching and compelling look at the day-to-day practice of an oncology clinician. But more so, it is an entry point into the patient-physician relationship and the trust, respect, and empathy that serve as its foundation. Our Connected Lives is highly recommended for readers of The ASCO Post.

About the Author

Dr. Rahman is Adjunct Professor of Biology (medical humanities and ethics) at Angelo State University; a senior trustee of Austin College in Sherman, Texas; and an advisory council member of the Charles E. Cheever Jr. Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. His writings on medical, ethical, social, and scientific issues have appeared in many national, international, and regional publications, including TheNew York Times, TheWall Street Journal, TheGuardian Weekly, Harvard Review, Newsweek,Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News,TheOncologist, and The Lancet. He tells more about his life’s journey in his cultural and medical memoir,The Temple Road: A Doctor’s Journey. It was first published in India in 2016, and its U.S. edition will be published in May 2026 by the Texas Tech University Press.

Dr. Rahman and his wife, Jahanara (Ara), have lived in West Texas for most of their lives and have raised four children.