Yesterday we reported the news, from CNN, that Joan River’s personal ENT physician performed the surgery that led to her death. The ENT accompanied Joan to a routine endoscopy appointment at a clinic. While Joan was under anesthesia, the physician, who was not authorized to do surgery at the clinic, did a biopsy of Joan’s vocal cords that Joan had not signed off on. During the impromptu surgery, Joan’s vocal cords began to swell, causing her oxygen to be cut off and prompting the medical crisis which ultimately killed her. CNN also reported that the physician took a selfie while Joan was under, which is despicable enough in itself. (Some outlets interpreted this as the doctor taking a selfie with Joan, although that detail is up to debate. Radar quotes a source who claims that Rivers was in the shot. I will wait until that is confirmed.)
Now multiple outlets have named the ENT physician as Dr. Gwen Korovin, throat doctor to the stars. Korovin has worked on Celine Dion, Hugh Jackman, Adele, John Mayer and Lady Gaga, among many others. Her office is decorated with signed photos of the many famous people she’s worked with, and you can see some of them in the photo above. (From her Facebook.) Korovin appears in Celine Dion’s documentary, Through The Eyes of The World, where she consults with the singer. Even her examining room is filled with photos of celebrities. Here’s more, from The Wrap:
The ear, nose, and throat specialist who performed a procedure on late comedienne Joan Rivers has been revealed as her personal physician, Dr. Gwen Korovin, according to reports.
Pictures posted on Korovin’s Facebook show the New York-based specialist has a slew of celebrity clientele, including Hugh Jackman and Daniel Radcliffe. She’s known as Broadway’s go-to throat specialist helping such stars as Patti Lupone with their singing voices.
According to TMZ, Korovin isn’t authorized to practice medicine at the Yorkville Endoscopy center, where Rivers went Aug. 28 to undergo a scheduled endoscopy by gastroenterologist and the clinic’s medical director Dr. Lawrence Cohen. After that procedure, CNN reports Rivers also underwent an unauthorized vocal cord biopsy performed by her personal doctor.
Korovin’s office said in a statement, “We do not comment on matters related to patients.”
On Sept. 5, the New York Medical Examiner’s Office told TheWrap that the autopsy on Rivers’ body did not determine the cause or manner of death, and that further studies would be conducted to determine exactly how she died.
As the article mentions, Joan’s autopsy was inconclusive, so it’s officially unknown how she died at this point. Korovin has essentially gone into hiding. The NY Daily News reports that “Before the story broke, Korovin fled her E. 77th St. office and could not be reached for comment at her West Village home.” It is expected that Joan’s daughter, Melissa, will file suit against Korovin, against Yorkville Endoscopy, the clinic where her mother was treated, and against Dr. Lawrence Cohen, the doctor who performed her mother’s endoscopy. She’s also thought to be filing complaints with the medical board.
As for whether it’s ok to out the doctor, I think that’s up to debate. This story originated on TMZ and has been picked up by more mainstream sources like The Washington Post. One narrative is that Joan was killed by an arrogant, fame-hungry doctor who performed an unauthorized surgery in a setting unprepared for emergencies. On the other side, this doctor has probably performed this surgery hundreds of times before, perhaps with no adverse events until Joan’s death. She probably has so many famous clients because she’s an excellent doctor.
Maybe Joan brought Korovin with her to perform surgery if necessary, and maybe she gave verbal, if not written consent, for additional surgery. We don’t know what happened, but the alleged facts are damning enough. There are protocols in place for a reason. They were flouted and a lady died. This isn’t a Conrad Murray type situation, this is a very sad single incident. I looked up Korovin’s record and there were no malpractice citations or disciplinary actions against her in NY that I could find.
Korovin appears in Celine Dion’s documentary, Through The Eyes of The World. Her appearance is at about 13:00 in the video below.
photo credit: WENN.com
So, this doctor’s ego killed Joan Rivers?… How sad .
YEP! Pathetic!
I imagine we’d be amazed at the number of “unauthorized” things that happen during surgery. If nothing goes wrong, no one is the wiser.
@velourazure I don’t think that’s the case. I’m not a surgeon but did surgical rotations during medical schools not so long ago and we never did anything the surgeon did not consent for in advance. Surgeons aim to consent the patient for a range of possibilities (e.g., “if we find a tumor, we’d like to take a biopsy — do you consent to this?”).
A standard ethics-related exam question for doctors is a scenario where you are performing a planned invasive gynecologic procedure on a presumably healthy female patient. During the procedure you see an ovarian mass which you strongly suspect is malignant (cancerous). You did not consent the patient for a biopsy as you did not expect it. What do you do? Given the invasive nature of the current surgery and inherent risks of a second invasive surgery, do you biopsy the mass and send to pathology? Or do you close the patient’s surgical incision and request consent once she recovers from the anesthesia?
The answer is ALWAYS that you close the patient and request consent for biopsy later. If I were the patient, I’d actually prefer the surgeon take the biopsy during the first surgery, but s/he would not be allowed to do that if we had not included that in the informed consent process.
Perhaps this isn’t so uncommon for celebrity doctors, but It seems rather “much” to have the autographed head shots of your patients/clients in the background. And am I the only one who sees her last name and automatically reads it as “Kevorkian” in my head?
I kept reading it the same way.
I find it distasteful. Was she planning on showing Joan’s photo around at cocktail parties? This was a person at their most vulnerable, her photo taken without permission. Without credentials at this clinic, authorization or any signed consent, she goes to town on her vocal cords. The sooner Melissa files a lawsuit the better.
The pictures seem unprofessional to me. A doctor’s office isn’t a deli or a dry cleaners. Having admiration for a patient is one thing, creating credibility by using their photos is another thing altogether.
I don’t know. I hear you but I’ll bet they impress a lot of “peasants.” I once took my son to an orthopedic doc who had signed photos of pro athletes he had treated in his office. I imagine lots of people thinking “wow, I’m in good company with this doc.”
Trophies. They are trophies. Just like that selfie with an unconscious Joan (it makes no sense to take a selfie in the OR without your trophy).
I thought that patients had confidentiality, that doctors were discreet. Why should they be used as advertising for her practice? Talk about a name dropper.
Korovin violated Joan’s person and treated her like a piece of meat and may have caused her death. Shaming her in public is a good beginning. I wonder what all the other celebrities think of her now.
hmmm made an excellent point when she likened the head shots to trophies. You are so right – why would she want to take a selfie in the OR unless she included Joan? This is so disgusting on so many levels. The doctor dehumanized Joan and for all we know could be selling photos of her celebrity patients to the tabloids. Here is one aspect of the selfie no one has mentioned – all instruments in the OR are sterilized. Was the camera sterilized? Probably not. So she touched the germ laden phone with her hands and then operated on Joan? Maybe some bacteria from the phone caused her throat to swell – (you never know.)
What about HIPAA? Shouldn’t this be included under that regulation?
I was thinking about HIPAA as well in terms of this photo of her with the celeb photos in the background. She obviously specializes in ENT, and one would think that the posting of the head shots of these celebs on her wall in the background would automatically define the type of patient and purpose for their visit by association. Granted, a similar association could be made if the paparazzi photographed a celeb visiting her office. That being said, the paparazzi don’t have the same relationship with a patient and responsibilities that the doctor-patient relationship entails or the responsibilities that HIPAA outlines. And, too, the celebs are obviously tacit in the exposure because of the gift/signing of the photos and likely, by circumstance, waiving some of the regulations by having given permission (I am guessing) to have their photos hung up in her office. Nevertheless, despite the possible legal or, at the very least, ethical nature of hanging these head shots, it certainly seems tacky IMHO.
The celebrities almost certainly consented to have their pictures hung. This would not violate HIPAA.
It’s not a HIPAA violation, just extremely distasteful.
My first OB/GYN in LA had head shots in her lobby. It made me uncomfortable, as it felt like a violation of their privacy. I no longer go to her.
Wow. I know there’s no legal difference as far as HIPAA is concerned, but to me there’s a HUGE difference between ENT appointments and pap smears. Of course every woman needs those exams, but I wouldn’t want someone seeing my face while waiting for theirs.
Yes, because of the incredibly personal nature of the type of doctor that I was seeing, it made it all the more uncomfortable to see the headshots. At the time, I thought that the celebs must have given them to her, so maybe they were ok with how they were displayed. Now I realize that it isn’t that hard to get a signed headshot, so the celebs might not know how their photos are being used.
Even after I stopped seeing her, her office would send me emails about prescriptions for pregnancy hormones that help non-pregnant women lose weight. My experience with her was all around distasteful.
Head shots would have been given, yes? And permission by the people for the doctor to use them, correct? Otherwise, the person would say something the next time he or she went to that doctor.
Jag,
It is also possible the doctor sent a letter to the fan mail service of the celeb, and the service sent a signed headshot back to the doctor.
The doctor having a headshot doesn’t mean that the celeb was a patient…it is just implied. If the celeb never used the services of the doctor, then they would never know their headshot is hanging in their lobby.
Maybe she is not the one who took the selfie, that doesn’t make sense she is clearly used to being around stars. Since Joan trusted her enough to be her personal physician and even escort her to the operating room , I think she was just trying to assist and things went terribly wrong.
But if she had no practicing privileges she should have observed, at most. Period. And no informed consent is no informed consent- no permission written, not happening.
And no paralytics on the friggin’ code cart? I’m old and rusty, but that was always the go- to for laryngospasm during intubation, which presumably they attempted, since it’s the A in the ABC’s of BLS& ACLS. If she were bleeding heavily & in spasm, that would be an almost (*almost*) insurmountable situation. This Dr. is f&cked.
What confuses me is that the clinic has said that they had just as much lifesaving equipment as a regular hospital. Yet they apparently didn’t attempt a tracheotomy, nor were they allegedly trying to do anything to revive her when paramedics arrived.
Wouldn’t an emergency tracheotomy have saved her?
I think that the doctor and the clinic are done for.
@ jag: someone else said that on yesterday’s thread.
The initial reports said she didn’t have an airway until she got to the hospital. But that seems to be the standard BS rumours you get immediately after an event. All the more recent reports have said she was already intubated when the ambulance arrived. (And they were performing CPR, and had her hooked up to a defibrillator.)
I don’t know any doc in their right mind that would perform an invasive procedure without written informed consent unless the procedure was done emergently. That does not appear to have been the case here.
ThIS.
If she was in laryngospasm 50, maybe 100 mg of succinylcholine would have saved her. I’m sure any office doing heavy sedation for endoscopies would have this around for emergencies. Crazy. There is so much more to this story than we are being told. ANY ent worth anything would be able to preform an emergency tracheotomy. Something does not compute. And there should be a lawsuit.
Just the 2 cents of someone who does this all the time….
It could have been an accident because this type of sh*t happens to the nicest and best people in the world all the time. But still sad to see Joan go. I miss her humor!
Please see my above reply. Without practicing privileges at that facility and documented written informed consent for biopsy, she should have done nothing more than patting Joan’s hand before and after. She made some mistakes, alright. The first one was scrubbing in.
Just want people to understand that she could have been more than skilled in the procedure she performed, even if not having practicing privileges at THAT particular facility. I think it might have gone like this – Joan’s always had a harsh voice, maybe vocal cord issues, and might have said, well, I’m having this endoscopy and I’m gonna be under anyway, can we just do this while I’m under so I don’t have to go through sedation again (which at that age while wipe you out for at least a few days). Everyone agrees to this on a handshake (yes, that was the stupidest moment of their lives), then that 1 in a 1000 panic moment happened. And yes, the lawyers are going to have a field day with this one even if it was completely unforeseeable.
Also, has TMZ released this ENT’s selfie? If it’s so damning why hasn’t it been leaked?
You also have to suspect that somebody in the office talked to the press which itself would be a HIPAA violation and ethically gross as well.
I used to work in a hospital that had many celebrity clientele and I am not surprised something like this happened. Doctors, trying to impress these celebrities, went out of their way to accommodate them and often ordered unnecessary tests and procedures. Doctors get start struck and want these celebrities to refer them to other celebrities so they can be the celebrity doctor. Doctors can be fame whores too.
I think ^this^ is exactly what happened. Exceptions were made, as initiated by Joan, where standard (of) care was side-stepped. Being treated as ‘special’ is probably what killed her, but also what she asked for.
That’s what I think happened too. She brought another doctor to her endoscopy…that sounds very unusual.
@Tiffany 🙂 Agreed. Not that the clinic should have allowed it, but so it goes.
Exactly. I am not fully trusting the info that has leaked so far, but if it is correct, it seems that 3 parties contributed to her death:
1. Herself for bringing in another doctor to the clinic who wasn’t authorized to perform there.
2. The clinic for allowing a doctor who wasn’t authorized to perform procedures there.
3. The doctor that Joan brought in shouldn’t have performed at a clinic that she wasn’t authorized to work in.
It seems like bad choices were made all around.
Good point. Joan did bring her to the procedure after all, presumably for more than just moral support. Tragic any way you look at it, and hopefully providers will now think twice now before circumventing protocols for celebs.
This is what has been troubling me. The endoscopy was basically a diagnostic procedure. The ENT probably referred Joan to the location where it was performed. The ENT went along for some reason. But why would the clinic staff let her do the biopsy if all protocols were not followed? Not only the ENT having authority to perform procedures there, but I would imagine there are vocal cord biopsy procedures used to prevent the loss of airway likely to occur after swelling.
For a regular person, the ENT would have to wait and get a report from the endoscopy. But in this instance, the celebrity factor must have been an issue.
This does sound as if Joan may have initiated or agreed to speeding things up by having her ENT present. Either party may have suggested to take care of any problem on the spot.
Another factor may simply be that Joan’s age was overlooked. She may have looked and acted younger, but her body was 81. And she didn’t seem one for down time. All of the above may have contributed to the outcome.
It’s difficult for a Brit like me to envisage as even though we do have private healthcare alongside the NHS, there really isn’t any culture of “doctor to the stars”. But this sounds the most common sensical of explanations to me.
So um… is there some scenario in which celebrity ENT accompanies star to clinic, routine procedure is underway and and celeb ENT says “I think we should biopsy that”. Clinic goes along with it even though celeb ENT isn’t licensed in that clinic because she is all proper and well-regarded, and the clinic is a bit scared of what Joan will say when she wakes up, only to be told that she needs another procedure (the biopsy) but the clinic didn’t do it because of red tape?
Or am I just imagining how things work all wrong?
That seems plausible. I don’t think it’s that unusual for a procedure to take an unexpected turn when something surprising and/or unrelated is found. Still, I guess it’s probably highly variable, in some cases it can be taken care of and in other cases it can’t or shouldn’t. Sounds like they took a big risk.
I’m not in the field, btw, this is just speculation!
Sixer, this scenario is completely plausible. If what I am reading is correct about this “ENT to the stars” (eye roll), she should have known better. Just because Joan brought you to the procedure does not mean you should have performed a biopsy at a clinic you were unfamiliar with and were not licensed to do procedures at. You know the risks involved!!! I loved Joan, I am so angry about this!!! I do not normally support suing physicians, but this fame whore doctor needs to be an example!
Thanks, chaps!
Zackly, Sixer.
With the greatest respect and sympathy re Joan R…..the whole shebang sounds quite barking. (It’s been making me have visions from ‘Dynasty’ from the start…..strange, glamorous clinics more like Claridges, where people carry on as though serious illness were the last thing anyone was concerned about.)
I can see that happening. But 2 things are still odd:
1) A vocal cord biopsy is usually done under general anaesthetic. She’d have only been under twilight sedation for the endoscopy. (Not sure why vocal cord biopsies are done under general, but there must be a good reason because general anaesthetic is inherently riskier than twilight sedation.)
2) The fact the clinic released a statement specifically saying a “a biopsy of the vocal cords has never been performed at Yorkville Endoscopy”. They could be lying, but that would be really, REALLY stupid if an autopsy could prove them wrong. (Attempted cover-ups just get you in worse trouble.)
I’m wondering if the ENT did something, but not a biopsy. Maybe just a laryngoscopy?
The first rumor was therapeutic botox. But that would have been ill advised in a clinic too. Maybe they did nothing but the scope, as you said.
Ooo Kiddo that’s a good one. Any ENTs out there? Is botoxing vocal cords a thing, and if the doctor overdid it, could it have resulted in vocal cord paralysis?
Interesting short post on consent and malpractice and NY protocols and guidelines for invasive procedures:
http://blog.jdmd.com/index.php/tag/verbal-consent/
http://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/protocols_and_guidelines/surgical_and_invasive_procedure/nyssipp_faq.htm
IDK. Celebrities ask for special treatment from doctors all the time, pushing them to not follow regular protocols and often don’t want a record kept about certain operations. Maybe these doctors should learn to say no to these requests and the big money that comes with it but I do hate the crowd mentality of “string up the doctor” when a famous celebrity dies. These celebrities are adults of sound mind when they consent to hire these doctors.
It’s still on the Doctor’s shoulders, though…The doctor SHOULD follow strict, legal procedures, no matter who the patient is! No matter how much money is involved…
Exactly.
True, in an ideal world maybe.
@MrsPitt
You are right, the doctors should follow regular standard of care no matter what the celebrity patient wants but they often don’t even non-famous but rich clients. For example these clients will come into a prestigious academic hospital like UCLA and ask for “only the Chief surgeon” to perform surgeries when actually the chief resident has performed more successful operations that year than the chief. And is more on top of current advanced techniques. In medicine special treatment is never the way to go.
P.S.
Forgot to add that some academic doctors go along with the rich or celebrity special treatments in hopes of huge future donations to the hospitals for patient care and teaching but also SOME rich patients can go over a doctor’s head and threaten NOT to donate in the future if they don’t get special treatment. I have seen this in action that’s why I’m kind of conflicted by the “string the doctors” mentality. Nice to read opposing views, why I love the smart women of CB 🙂
IDK, is there any evidence that Rivers asked for special treatment from her doctors? Surely Joan did not ask the Dr. top take a selfie while she was under anesthesia?
I posted this above, it seems likely now that I think about it, that she did ask for special treatment, otherwise why would she have brought this doctor along for a procedure that was unrelated to her specialty?
Rivers was undergoing an endoscopy on her throat at the clinic and she brought along her ear, nose and throat specialist. Seems related to me.
While you might generalize about how doctors treat celebs, and tragic mistakes can happen some of this speculation is coming perilously close to blaming Joan.
I stand corrected. You’re right, it was related, sorry. As for the comments blaming Joan, I think people here are trying to figure out her role here. She did seem to consent to having the doctor present, which might have been the first step in the chain of tragic events.
They will also go elsewhere to another doctor if refused or told something they don’t want to hear…
Something seems really off about the whole situation….I know Joan was no spring chicken…but she seemed healthy enough for her age, and I find it interesting that the Medical Examiners Office hasn’t found cause of death…
That’s the detail that gets me as well. Cause of death has not been determined? Does that mean the procedure was not responsible? I thought lack of oxygen killed her, but I guess legally it all depends on when she was technically declared dead. Malpractice suits are difficult to win because of all the factors involved, but at the very least it seems clear rules were broken. Photos or no photos, she must be a helluva good doctor for all those famous people to entrust their vocal chords to her.
The ME hasn’t found cause of death …. YET. They’re not finished, they just have the initial autopsy results. They have to do toxicology screens and interviews before they make a finding. It’s pretty much normal.
I agree something is off about this whole situation. The selfie issue is outrageous as well. Does this doctor have a wall in her office for selfies taken with patients while they are under? Questionable and unprofessional behavior all the way around here IMO. Curious to see if her flock of famous clientele go elsewhere after this.
I think the reasons things don’t add up, is there is a massive cover-up on the part of the doctors present. They know they were at fault and if the whole truth were to come out – massive lawsuit time.
She wouldn’t have been under full anesthetic for an endoscopy unless I’m mistaken. It’s instead a sedative as they need you conscious to swallow the tube. You’re technically awake but remember nothing… I had one a few years back. It’s such a weird sensation!
Hmmm I wonder if her body reacted badly to the bizarre biopsy as she *wasn’t* properly anaesthetised……? Not a doctor so just wild uninformed speculation
I had the same procedure and I was given a general anesthetic. I think most people are. I always thought they needed you unconscious so your throat was relaxed and wouldn’t cease up.
But didn’t the statement out out by the clinic (that was posted in yesterday’s story) claim that they *don’t* use general anaesthetist, but only varying levels of sedation?
But even then, the sedation could have knocked Joan out. I’ve never had an endoscopy, but I’ve had multiple colonoscopies, and even though I’m just sedated, I’m completely unconscious.
I’m not sure which one you mean FingerBinger: an endoscopy or a vocal cord biopsy?
I’m with Petrichor on the endoscopy/colonoscopy. I don’t remember a thing when I’m under twilight sedation. I actually assumed my first colonoscopy was under general, and only discovered that it wasn’t a few years later.
(I was totally freaking out after checking the info/prep sheet for my second one and seeing “conscious sedation”. When I spoke to the GI, he gave me an odd look and said “you realise your last one was like that, right?”. So I went back to just freaking out about being ill and having to drink gallons of that VILE liquid for prep. *shudder*)
Colonoscopy is up the pooper though; totally different procedure! Pethaps they do it differently where I live. Everyone I know has just been sedated. Not mentally present but conscious
I’ve had an endoscopy and colonoscopy and both times I was given the drug Propofol (sedation) and I was totally out of it during the procedure. This is the drug that Michael Jackson died from also. I suspect that was what Joan was given as it’s the number one sedation used in the USA for these minor procedures. I’m not saying it had anything to do with her death – just that it is most likely what was used.
I find it strange that the walls in her office are covered with celebrities, so she’s obviously a bit of a fame whore, but surely the celebs knew their pictures were plastered there so whatever. I think this is obviously an unfortunate accident, perhaps Joan did give verbal consent for the dr to do whatever she felt necessary during the procedure, I don’t see why else she would be there. But, the clinic shouldn’t have allowed her to do it there or without proper consent, both are responsible for Joan’s death.
One of the problems with surgery is that medical doctors call it “routine” and act like it is no big deal.
There is no surgery that is no big deal. You go under anesthesia and essentially are nearly dead while they work on you. They have to bring you back to the living to revive you. The operating rooms are very cold. You have to recover from this. They also have to lift you and transfer you around, that can injure parts of you they were not working on.
My mom had breast cancer surgery and we had the surgeon sign a form saying that one lymph node would be removed. We knew what happens to people who have all their nodes taken out, their arms swell up and it cannot be fixed. He took 3 out. Should we sue him? Why do they not respect the patient’s wishes? Surgeons can be very arrogant. They have a God complex.
People here know that I was writing last week from a hospital bed while recovering from major surgery. Well guess what–I’m back in a hospital bed dealing with post-op complications. I agree–there’s nothing “routine” about having your insides exposed to the outside and getting body parts removed.
After years of dealing with doctors and the healthcare system because of a chronic illness, I’ve learned that patients and patients families have to advocate for themselves and their own best interests because no one else is going to do it for you.
Sentinel lymph node biopsy is a routine part of the process of breast cancer diagnosis in order to ensure the best treatment.
http://m.cancer.gov/topics/factsheets/sentinel-node-biopsy
Doctors will absolutely remove a node to biopsy and determine if cancer is present. They may remove more to check if others look suspicious. The point of the procedure is to determine the extent of the cancer and whether to treat more aggressively or not. Why would you want to sue the doctor for being cautious and doing their job? I don’t understand why family members of a cancer patient freak out when someone begins receiving treatment. It’s fine to educate yourself fully, but why get mad at the people who are trying to provide treatment to your loved one? I wouldn’t hesitate to sue a doctor who didn’t want to do a node biopsy or one that biopsied the wrong side or was drunk, but it’s misplaced to be angry about the very well documented and proven-to-improve-lifespan methods that doctors use for breast cancer treatment. If the doctor realized later that those nodes had been cancerous and told you they weren’t removed because your family might be offended, the doctor would have rightfully failed at their job.
+1. I’d be surprised if the consent form truly read “one lymph node” rather than something more general like “lymph node removal.” If the former is the case, then the surgeon needs to improve his/her consent form as OlyB makes a great point about the standard of care is to remove all cancerous nodes. Would you rather have lymphedema or die of metastatic (spreading) breast cancer? I’m sure a few would choose the latter, but that’s a conversation to have with their doctor.
OlyB:
If I tell a doctor he only has permission to remove one node and he removes 3, he is committing malpractice. In fact, I have a degree in natural medicine and am aware that the lymph node is There to catch cancer cells.
You pay someone to do a job. You tell that person and get it in writing. We specifically stated one node. There is no excuse for this. It is not “father knows best”. This is your health and you have the right to decide what procedures are done.
He also insisted she do chemo and radiation. In spite of the radiologist emphatically stating that radiation would damage her heart. He wanted to do chemo and lied that the chemo would not affect normal cells. Everyone knows that is a lie. A year later, my my was written up in a medical journal. They said her type of cancer had NEVER responded to chemo or radiation. The doctor did not care. He had his agenda. She is alive and well since 2001 because she refused his chemo and radiation.
Doctors can be very arrogant. People look up to them and put up with a lot of crap from them because they trust them.
I don’t trust doctors anymore. Medicine has become more about the dollar than someone’s health. There are some great doctors but there are many that are functioning drug addicts too. I grew up without a mother because some doctor with a God Complex decided to do something experimental on her while she was under for a routine test. He caused a major stroke which left her comatose and severely brain damaged for the rest of her life.
I can’t stand Celine Dion and I think her boy is the MOST spoiled brat there is in the world!!!!
She’s the EENT to stars like Dan Radcliffe, Hugh Jackman, Javier Bardem, JC Sachez…wait a minute, JC Sachez?
Both the headline and the first sentence of the article say “Joan River’s doctor” – her last name is “Rivers,” not “River,” so the apostrophe should be after the s. Sorry to nitpick but it’s such a basic rule of punctuation, how did that slip by?
Hey thanks for this pretty balanced coverage on this Celebitchy. I actually haven’t seen anyone elsewhere try to spell things out so fairly given that not much is confirmed at this point ! Cheers