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My mother had a fear of doctors - other than her daughter marrying one.

There are two things panic patients hate to do. They hate to take medication - and they hate to go to doctors. They hate to come to grips.

I think I definitely got scared by the second or third time a doctor told me I was dying.

I hadn't stopped fearing the chance of passing on an illness, but that fear had become balanced by the observation that being ill wasn't the same as being beaten.

During war time, when people were injured, I was really frustrated I did not become a doctor. It's painful not being able to save people, witnessing their pain.

My phobias worsen as I get older. I'm scared of flying, driving. I'm terrified of sharks. I'm a germaphobe. But I try to face my fears; I do. Well, most of them.

Doctors didn't know what to do with me.

Our great struggle in medicine these days is not just with ignorance and uncertainty. It's also with complexity: how much you have to make sure you have in your head and think about. There are a thousand ways things can go wrong.

And if you're not going to have a clear health threat, you don't want to panic people.

Growing up, I was prone to anxiety.