Dr. John W Henson IV, MD

I knew Dr Henson when he practiced at MGH in Boston. He is a dedicated and caring physician. The trouble is he knows he can't cure his patients and the treatments he prescribes for his patients are often harsh and sometimes fatal. I sometimes wonder how he sleeps at night. I also wonder what he would do if he got Gliobastoma himself? Would he take his own treatments? You should ask him that if you see him. He's a very busy doctor and doesn't always have enough time in his day to give his patients the time and attention they deserve. I wish Dr. Henson would incorporate some mind/body work in his treatments and start thinking outside the box of conventional treatments for a change. Also, Dr. Henson has a singing voice that would put an arch angel to shame. Maybe he should sing to his patients...that would work work at least as well as chemotherapy and the only side effect would be a warm feeling. Let us all keep Dr. Henson in our prayers!

Dr. Henson cared for my wife for 15 years at Mass General. Though sometimes the wait was long, when he was with us we felt we were all that mattered to him, always taking time to answer our questions. Helped kindly guide us through this journey. He tells it like it is, and though some people have a hard time with that, my wife and I appreciated his honesty and care. We hated to see him leave.

Hard to get an appointment, no follow-up initiated by doctor, completely thoughtless as to the patient's feelings about what and how he communicates about the problem that the patient has. Put "poor" on "accuracy in diagnosing a problem" because he couldn't say what the problem was but was ready to surgically remove an important part of the brain in order to find out. When questioned about this by the patient, he turned away and proceeded to only address the spouse--a level of immaturity hard to fathom in a neurosurgeon.

Excellent diagnostician, caring, really listens. Takes a very careful history.

however has an extremely poor bedside manner. in a rush. abrupt explanations, wants to be in control of decision making. patient inputdoes not seem to be appreciated. poor explanation of drug side effects unless aggressively prompted. does not coordinate well with my other physicians. poor response time by staff to questions or requests for his input when you run into a problem. the negatives outweigh the obvious medical talent of this doc. agree with the previous reviewer. a patient with gbm need someone that is more supportive and as a patient i do not have time or patience to wade trough the process of dealing with this fellow.

He gives not enough information, given what he knows. Sometimes misses appointments HE made, by judging one patient over another. Lets his religion interfere with his medical professionalism. When asked questions, he acts as if his position is being challenged, rather than questioning to get at understanding. Over the long haul, John is loving, caring, and concerned. It takes too long to get to this point. Especially with GBM.

I have known this doctor for about ten years. I sent him a brain scan to look at and he would not even give me the time of day. I went to another doct ...