Despite 'bikkur cholim,' patients may want to be alone
During her recent bout with breast cancer, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, founding member of Ms. Magazine, author and social justice activist, became intrigued by her friends' and family's diverse reactions to her and her diagnosis. Some behaved awkwardly, for example, or misinterpreted what she needed. Others were able to sense her needs, or her need for nothing at the time. After speaking with fellow patients at Memorial S…