Dr Jakobson Is a Retired Diagnostic Radiologist, Author of Multiple Books, and Medical Writer from Tampa, Florida
Curator’s Note: Dr. Peeter Jakobson, a retired diagnostic radiologist and author based in Florida, shares his remarkable journey from a childhood in post-war Germany to a distinguished career in medicine. Born in 1948 to Estonian refugees, he embraced both American and Estonian cultures. After earning a degree in biology and subsequently graduating from medical school in Finland, he practiced radiology for over four decades. Now 78, Dr. Jakobson actively writes to educate others about healthcare, emphasizing the importance of quality of life. His hobbies include chess, skiing, and flying. He values honesty in writing and aims to empower readers through his experiences and insights. This interview was conducted by Dr Mehmet Yildiz, founder and chief editor of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications on Medium, Substack, Patreon, and Digitalmehmet.
Dear Subscribers,
Today, as part of my interview series with creators, professionals, and leaders, I will introduce you to a long-term healthcare practitioner and thought leader in diagnostic radiology, a book author, and a medical writer living in Florida, US.
This conversation gives you a glimpse of retired medical doctor Peeter Jakobson, M.D., who has been contributing to my publications on this platform with his educational, insightful, and engaging stories on important health matters.
Dr Jakobson is relatively new to this platform, but he has been researching and writing in his field for over half a century. Let’s explore his background and insights!
Hi Dr Jakobson! Thank you for your time. Let’s start with your background.
Hi Dr Yildiz, thank you for this opportunity. I was born in 1948 in Schleswig, Germany, the son of Estonian refugees who had fled the Soviet occupation in 1944.
My parents were twenty years old when they left everything behind. They met in Germany, married, and I spent my first three years in a displaced persons camp in Hamburg. We came to America in 1951.
We settled in Lakewood, New Jersey, which had a thriving Estonian community, a Lutheran church, a scout camp, a community hall with a stage, Friday night folk dancing, and an Estonian school on Saturdays.
My father built a masonry business and eventually built us a home. I became an Eagle Scout, competed in shooting, and grew up between two worlds, deeply American and deeply Estonian at the same time.
After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in biology, I won a scholarship from the Estonian Scholastic Association to the University of Helsinki.
Through friends, I met a professor of surgery who arranged an interview with the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. Following that interview, I was accepted into the medical program.
I returned to the United States, completed a radiology residency at the University of Florida at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, with help from Dr. Juri Kaude, a professor I met through the Estonian diaspora, and spent the next forty years as a diagnostic radiologist in private practice in Kentucky and Florida.
I retired in 2015, spent four months doing locum tenens work in Guam with side trips to Hong Kong, then came home and continued trading options and futures for several more years.
I am 78 years old and, as Clint Eastwood has said, “I’m not going to let the old man in.”
Why did you choose your profession?
Medicine was never a sudden decision for me. It was always in the background. My father had been accepted to medical school three times. First in Tartu, Estonia, before the war made that impossible. Then twice in Germany, where tuberculosis nearly killed him.
He was on his deathbed when the patient in the next bed died, a man who had been prescribed Streptomycin. My father received that medication instead, survived, and eventually came to America. An American doctor, at the NYC port of entry, who saw his chest X-ray, just whistled and said, “You sure came walking out of the water dry.”
A man like that has an influence on you.
He had attended the French Academy in Tallinn, the Prantsuse Lüütseum, where he was advanced two grades. He spoke five languages like a native: Estonian, Russian, French, German, and English. His English was better than mine by any measure.
My grandmother on his side was Russian, and he had grown up speaking Estonian and Russian at home before the Academy added the rest.
Beyond that, I had exceptional biology teachers in high school and at the University of Pittsburgh who made the subject come alive. Medicine felt like the natural destination. I cannot point to a single moment when I made the decision. It was simply always where I was headed.
What do health and well-being mean to you?
Health is the second most important thing in life, after time itself. Nobody wants to live long while sick and suffering. The goal is quality of life, not just quantity.
What are your hobbies, or what excites or entertains you?
Chess has been a constant throughout my life. My father taught me when I was seven, and we played regularly until I left for university. While in Helsinki, we played correspondence chess across the Atlantic. I play nearly every day online. It has always been there. Thanks, Dad.
My first addiction was snow skiing. My parents took me to Vermont nearly every year from age seven or eight. I never lost that.
My father was an avid butterfly collector in Estonia and taught me the craft, such as how to make the net, build the spreading boards, and mount the specimens properly. He still had contacts in those days who could obtain cyanide for the killing jar, which kept the butterflies supple for mounting. I still have his Holland butterfly and moth books, including one from 1900.
I was athletic growing up, a high school captain of both the soccer and wrestling teams, and a District Champion in wrestling. I lost the Regional final in overtime and injured my shoulder. That shoulder issue still bothers me.
Flying became a serious pursuit in my last year of residency when I wandered onto a grass airstrip outside Gainesville. My first experience was in a glider. Eventually, I bought a Mooney in 2002 and trained with a former fighter pilot who put me through every imaginable emergency scenario. I believe that training is what kept me alive when I had to ditch the aircraft into the ocean near the Florida Keys.
I also paint, ride motorcycles, shoot, and once owned a 32-foot fishing cruiser. I was told the main function of a boat is to sink. I believe it.
What are the top three books that have affected your life?
Three books influenced how I see the world, all read as a young adult.
Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex. I wanted to understand what women experience — what bothers them, what drives them. I found it moving. It made me a better person and, I think, a nicer one.
Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock. I read it and immediately recognized that it was true that the pace of change itself becomes the crisis, not just the changes, and technology is the only cure. Everything I have watched happen in medicine, technology, and society since has confirmed it.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn — The Gulag Archipelago, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, The First Circle. For me, this was not abstract literature. Solzhenitsyn chronicles the story of my parents and millions who suffered under collectivism. What totalitarianism destroys first and most completely is the individual. That is the central truth of the twentieth century, and Solzhenitsyn told it when telling it was dangerous.
Now, let’s talk about your writing. Why do you write on Medium?
I discovered that writing is genuinely enjoyable, something I had not expected at this stage of life. Medium made it remarkably easy to begin.
It has no gatekeepers, no lengthy submission process, just a clean platform where you can write as much as you want and put it in front of real readers.
Illumination was one of the first publications I seriously considered. It had clear standards and a genuine editorial sensibility. I submitted, was accepted, and kept submitting. Nine consecutive acceptances later, I am still here. Thank you, Dr. Yildiz.
Why did you join Illumination, and how do you find it so far?
I briefly addressed this in the previous question, but I will add that the editorial relationship with Illumination has been genuinely encouraging. Nine consecutive acceptances tell me the fit is real, not accidental, so I will continue leveraging your creator-friendly resources on Medium.
Do you write on other platforms like Substack?
Not yet. I began writing seriously only in October 2024 and have been focused on building my presence on Medium and developing my website at PeeterJakobsonMD.com. Substack is very much on my radar. I know you are active there, and I intend to expand to that platform as I learn to get my work in front of more readers.
What are your values as a writer?
Honesty first. I write from experience. Forty years of clinical practice give me a foundation that no amount of research alone can replicate.
When I tell a reader what a radiology report actually means or how medical billing errors happen, I am drawing on firsthand experience, not on things I looked up.
I want to help seniors navigate a healthcare system that can often feel confusing. My mother’s experience was the catalyst. Watching someone you love struggle with a system that should be serving her clarified exactly why this writing matters.
I am also working on what I call the Vitruvian Man series, essays on the human organ systems that give readers a genuine understanding of how their own bodies work. Three essays have been published, and I plan to publish more.
As for research tools, I use what works. I believe a writer’s values show in the quality and honesty of the final product, not in which tools were used to get there.
How do you connect with your readers?
Through the writing itself, primarily. A well-crafted essay that speaks directly to a reader’s experience can create a connection no social media strategy can manufacture.
I also respond to comments and am building an email list on my website, PeeterJakobsonMD.com, so readers can reach me directly.
I have recently joined the Illumination Slack workspace and look forward to connecting with fellow writers and readers there as well.
Who are some writers you follow on Medium or other platforms?
I am relatively new to building my reading list on Medium, but writers I have found worthwhile include Gabriel Isaac, Somya Golchha, Singharoysukhamay, and Chris Davidson. I am actively discovering more through the Illumination community.
What are your top five stories you want to share with your audience and why?
My top five stories reflect the core of what I write about:
The $80 MCT Wellness Powder — a deep look at whether a popular supplement lives up to its claims. My readers found it through Google and kept finding it.
Your Medical Bill Is Probably Wrong — the essay that most directly helps readers protect themselves financially. Medical billing errors are endemic, and most people never challenge them.
64% of Anti-Aging Supplements Contain Almost Nothing — the supplement industry’s dirty secret, documented. This one resonates because the deception is so widespread.
Reversing Muscle Loss After 60 — sarcopenia is one of the most underappreciated health threats facing older adults. Strong organic search traffic tells me people are desperately looking for this information.
Why Organized Patients Get Better Care — an earlier essay that I believe every person who has ever felt lost in a doctor’s office needs to read. It gives readers a practical framework for taking control of their own healthcare.
What are the success factors for you as a writer?
First comes the audience. At 78 years of age, my tunnel is shorter than most writers’. I would like to see some light at the end of it.
More practically, I measure success by whether my writing actually helps someone. If a reader disputes a medical bill successfully because of my essay, or understands a diagnosis that frightens them, or stops wasting money on a supplement that contains almost nothing. That is success to me.
The numbers matter because they tell me the help is reaching people. Without an audience, the writing sits in the dark.
What do you recommend to new writers?
I am a new writer myself, having been in for barely eight months. I am the last person who should be dispensing advice. I’d say write, publish, learn from what happens. That is all I know so far.
What are your plans as a writer or as a professional?
To use the time allotted to me well. To write things that help people and to enjoy everything for the rest of my lifespan.
Many thanks to Dr Peeter Jakobson, M.D., for allocating his precious time and giving us a glimpse of his interesting background. You can connect with him via his website PeeterJakobsonMD.com and the Illumination Slack workspace.
You may also check out his educational and inspiring book How To Navigate The Medical Maze: A senior’s Guide to Appointments, Tests, And How To Talk Effectively With The Healthcare Machine, [ISBN 979–8284708200].
![You may also check out his educational and inspiring book How To Navigate The Medical Maze: A senior’s Guide to Appointments, Tests, And How To Talk Effectively With The Healthcare Machine, [ISBN 979–8284708200].](https://i0.wp.com/cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/720/0%2AYeWzicHS8rN4YvAu.jpg?ssl=1)
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