An acquaintance just donated a kidney to a sibling, allowing two lives to continue nearly as they were before. The glum and silent answer in my head to such questions was, “I don’t know.”But that wasn’t all. Imagine having a serious illness and a doctor mostly mumbling, “I don’t know.” What’s even more problematic, though, is when doctors are sure without being right. Still, I had the illusion that one day I would know so much that I’d rarely need to say, “I don’t know.” Twenty-five years in, I find myself saying this more, not less. So when I read this thoughtful essay from a freshly minted radiation oncologist, I was glad that someone had figured out earlier than me that “I don’t know” does not mean “I have nothing to offer”.

Source: The Guardian April 06, 2026 16:31 UTC