Keith:  the consummate physician
by Dr. Gerald Segal

As you all know by now, we lost our good friend and colleague, Keith Hansen, last month. He died suddenly while doing what he loved: fly fishing on the Dean River in northern British Columbia. Our deepest condolences go out to Keith’s family, his many friends and colleagues, and his patients.

The best thing that ever happened to me during my professional career was when I joined HealthFirst in 1996 and became Keith’s partner. I’ve had the unique privilege of working closely with Keith for the past 13 years. You learn a lot about a guy when you work next to him for 13 years …

Keith was the consummate physician. He had a brilliant mind and an encyclopedic knowledge, not only of hematology and oncology, but of the broader field of internal medicine. He continued to care for a group of internal medicine patients from the HealthFirst days. Unlike the rest of us, who feel comfortable practicing only our specialty, Keith managed his patients’ diabetes, hypertension, CHF, etc. with an astounding degree of expertise. Of course, his knowledge of the fields of hematology, oncology, and stem cell transplantation was spectacular.

Keith’s clinical judgment was, in my opinion, unsurpassed.  One of the great advantages of working closely with Keith was that I was able to go to him whenever I needed to discuss difficult or complicated patient management issues. We had a routine. I’d go to Keith’s office and say, “Keith, I need your sage advice.” He would usually say, “Buy low and sell high.” The first time I heard this, 13 years ago, I thought it was hilarious. With repetition, it became more of a comforting ritual. I then would discuss the patient management issue with Keith and, invariably, he would then give me sound and sage advice …

Working with Keith made me a better physician...

Keith was always honest, sometimes brutally so. You always knew where he stood on an issue. He had incredible integrity.
He had many interests outside of medicine ... You all know how much he loved fly-fishing, but this hobby motivated him to become a dedicated environmentalist. He was an expert on opera, wine and fine cuisine.

Apart from his clinical gifts, what I’ll remember most about Keith was his sense of humor. He had a sharp and ready wit and had an enormous repertoire of jokes, many of which I couldn’t repeat here. For the past 13 years, Keith and I shared the job of harvesting bone marrow and stem cells for the National Marrow Donor Program. Harvesting bone marrow, believe me, is tedious and exhausting. What made it more bearable was Keith’s many jokes and anecdotes told across the operating field.

Keith really died too young. Obviously, his death has created a void in Northwest Cancer Specialists, the Northwest Marrow Transplant Program and the medical community as a whole that will be difficult, if not impossible, to fill … As I told our staff, after giving them the bad news of Keith’s death, the one thing Keith would want us to do is keep doing what we are here for, that is to give excellent care to our patients.

Return to previous page