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 It's so embarrassing," begins Dr. Robert
Buckman," as he tells the tale of how he discovered he had osteoporosis almost two years ago. In the
humourous and round about fashion he has of telling a story, he starts with a pair of ill-fitting shoes, then
moves on to a subsequent blister, months of pain, and a suspected bone infection, before he finally hobbles
off to his rheumatologist for an examination and X-ray. (By this time he was also well rid of the tight
shoes.)
Only Dr. Buckman can make osteoporosis seriously funny. He's been using this same sense of the ridiculous
to comfort cancer patients and their families for years. He has also shared his communication insights with
the public and scores of health care professionals in Canada and abroad in books, lectures, articles and on
television.
Getting back to his own experience with osteoporosis, his sore foot did indeed arise from an infection, as
well as a fractured bone in his foot. His rheumatologist also commented on the thinness of his bones. A
subsequent bone mineral density (BMD) test and a height loss of close to two inches, led to a diagnosis of
osteoporosis. "Like I said, it was very embarrassing," says Dr. Buckman.
Earlier illnesses meant Dr. Buckman had undergone chemotherapy and steroid therapy, for as long as two
years in one instance. "I was on the watch for other side effects, but I just didn't think of
osteoporosis."
Now at "40 plus 16" years of age (as he puts it), Dr. Buckman takes osteoporosis "very seriously." He
takes calcium and vitamin D supplements, "in two daily doses, something I didn't realize was important for
proper absorption at first." He also takes a weekly bisphosphonate every Friday. And, although he hates
exercising and says he doesn't have time for it, gets up 30 minutes earlier these days to put in time on a
treadmill and train with weights.
His next BMD is scheduled for January and he hopes for an improvement. Nevertheless, he says, "I should
eventually have a BMD in the average range for my age, even if it means my age has caught up to my BMD
results."
Dr. Buckman is a medical oncologist (cancer specialist) at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto and
has been presenting science and medicine television programs in Britain and Canada for the past twenty years.
His series Magic or Medicine? won him a Gemini award and his latest series Human Wildlife was broadcast on
the Discovery Channel. He has written many articles on various aspects of medicine and oncology,
concentrating in the last 15 years on doctor-patient communication and breaking bad news. He has also written
14 books, including I Don't Know What to Say - How to Help and Support Someone Who is Dying and How to Break
Bad News, a medical textbook for physicians and healthcare professionals.
Much in demand as a speaker and lecturer, in November, Osteoporosis Month 2004, Dr. Buckman brought his
unique brand of humour to Osteoporosis Canada's Toronto Bone China Tea, sharing stories of compassion and
laughter to a rapt audience of 500.
Asked how osteoporosis has affected his lifestyle, Dr. Buckman says that he is even more cautious than
ever in his daily activities. His other medical conditions mean he already has a propensity to fall, so he is
very careful, especially on uneven surfaces or icy streets. "My 92-year-old mother has to help me get around
when I'm in London," he laughs. "But, better to look like an old fuddy duddy walking carefully on an icy
street, than to be an old fuddy duddy with bed sores in a hospital bed after fracturing a hip."
Although men are more reluctant to seek medical care than women, and they may perceive osteoporosis as a
women's disease, Dr. Buckman urges men to talk to their doctors about osteoporosis. "There's nothing unmanly
about finding out if you are at risk," he says, "after all nothing affects your sex life like dying."
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