Editorial

Twenty years ago, I along with many others was saddened to hear of the death of Roy Porter (1946–2002) His innovative approach towards medical history was responsible not only for generating a new level of interest amongst those who previously had failed to recognise its relevance, but also challenged the traditional model of interpretation which had for so long defined the subject as the history of the medical profession. Instead, Porter argued that medical history should aim to be an understanding of sickness and health which was so eloquently portrayed in his best-known work “The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity from Antiquity To the Present”. ¹ Such is the legacy of Porter's vast body of writing that it continues to inspire new intellectual interest in ways which broaden medical history and in doing so attract a modern, diverse readership

At the heart of much of Porter's work is the history of the patient. This is not without its challenges as those who share this interest will acknowledge and understand. The patient's voice is notably absent for much of history and even in recent times the response may be hard to interpret and categorise in terms of who and what it is influencing. This was a problem which Porter understood and which he discussed in “The Patient's View: Doing Medical History from below”. ² Porter approached the challenges of writing this version of medical history by suggesting five interpretative guidelines, though in turn warns against these being counterproductive if they lead to possible patterns of typicality and uniformity, as each experience remains unique to the individual. However, they are of value in promoting types of interpretation and contextualisation, particularly in relation to biography.

I was recently reminded of the immense value of Roy Porter's interpretation of medical history when I received a copy of Sarah Hughes posthumous publication “Holding Tight, Letting Go. My Life, Death And All The Madness In Between”. ³ Sarah was an internationally renowned journalist who chose to record her experiences after being diagnosed with cancer. This is a book which defies being reviewed in the traditional way due to its often brutal yet powerful ability to share the last few years of her life with friends, family, and members of the medical profession. It is a highly personal account which reflects Sarah's immense journalistic skills to record her illness in ways that are a true legacy both for her own family and members of the healthcare profession whilst adding to that small but immensely valuable library of patient narratives. It is also the type of medical history which Porter would have understood in terms of a being a biography highlighting in patients the problems of confusion, insecurity, failure and fear, and as such is a most valuable addition to recording the patient narrative.