"JASON: Well, that about does it for your life history. VIVIAN: Yes, that's all there is to my life history."
Jason is asking for Vivian's life history in their initial meeting. He asks very basic and minimal questions in order to find out her history. Thus this dialogue represents Jason's nature of caring very little about the patient and above all else the patient as research for him to plug into his charts and medical articles.
"One thing can be said for an eight-month course of cancer treatment: it is highly educational. I am learning to suffer."
Vivian's statement is one of great truth as the cancer treatment she is on is experimental. It is so difficult to complete that no one has been capable of handling the eight full dose treatments, but she has. She experiences a pain she's never felt before, nor believed possible.
"SUSIE: She's DNR!
JASON: She's Research!"
Jason has called for Vivian to be revived by the medical team even though he knew she was DNR. In this moment we see the fight between Susie, representing the heart of caring for a human being while Jason represents the sterile, vulgar side of the medical profession that is solely focused on Vivian as part of a graph or a study that he will be able to use to become a hero in his field in curing cancer.
