Diane Nicola Francoise Poilly

Arlene Kattelus

Dr. Poilley was assigned as a physician to care for my husband who was in his final stages of cancer, a cancer that he diligently fought for almost 18 months. His treatment was brutal, between chemotherapy and ongoing radiation, he was exhausted most of the time. His radiation oncologist, who was treating my husband for brain tumours, had told us that while his cancer was aggressive, there was still considerable opportunity for more radiation that could keep his brain tumours at bay. Certainly we both understood that his cancer would one day not be treatable, but we had hoped for one last Christmas together as a family. At the time of Dr. Poilly’s introduction, we were working to get my husband’s MRI and radiation moved up. After the introduction, we did not see or speak to his radiation oncologist again. While both my husband and I wanted an honest assessment of his condition, the delivery of Dr. Poilly’s feedback was just horrific. We were told bluntly that his current condition was “as good as it was going to get”. (Dr. Poilly had never even spoken to his radiation oncologist). The delivery of her feedback, while honest, lacked any sense of compassion or sympathy. My husband’s condition deteriorated quickly without additional radiation, to the point that my husband had lost all quality of life. We knew the end was coming, and soon, but during each visit Dr. Poilly felt the need to reinforce the same message of despair. We understood her message on the first delivery of it; we did not need to hear it on every visit. As for me, his full time caregiver for 18 months, she treated me like I didn’t exist at all, except to tell me to turn my husband every two hours and to let him eat and drink whatever he wanted. Had she enquired, she would have understood that I had a healthcare background and knew how to care for him. My husband did not want me to take Dr. Poilly to task about her style of speaking with us; he was afraid that it might impact the care that he would receive from her. My husband passed away peacefully in our home just as we had wanted in late November. He never did made it to Christmas unfortunately. In writing this, I am not questioning Dr. Poilly’s qualifications as a physician. What I do question however is how someone in the role of a hospice Physician can have so little compassion, and how they are not sufficiently trained on how to deliver difficult messages. I will forever regret how my husband was filled with sadness about Dr. Poilley’s delivery in her messaging and how I did nothing about it before he passed away. My husband was a wonderful man - a great husband and father. He deserved better.

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