The word “diagnosis” had connotations of tragedy in my head, mostly because of movie depictions of the diagnosis of cancer, which feature drama and despair. The meaning of diagnosis changed for me on the fourth of January, 2012, when I heard the words “Ulcerative Colitis” for the first time. The words flew over my head as I stared out the car window, eagerly awaiting my first solid food over twenty four hours, and when I reflected on that moment for the first time, it didn’t even qualify as a diagnosis to me because of the anticlimactic mood. In my experience, the diagnosis mattered very little in comparison to the disease, despite what I expected. At first, the worst aspect of Ulcerative Colitis was the isolation I felt. Middle school was
I started my internship at Lopburi Cancer Hospital in Thailand with excitement and anxiety. “What stage is the cancer in?” I asked in an effort to leave a good impression of the attending physician as we rounded with patients. In my mind, the prognosis for cancer wasn’t a good one and making a patient comfortable was important. However, as I stood waiting on the answer to my question, which my attending had declined to
All too often in regards to medical treatment, physicians are taught everything known about the scientific approaches to disease but still fail to realize the important details of how the disease impacts the individual. Many physicians do not show empathy to their patients and instead just focus on the current diagnosis and the probable outcome. This creates a divide between patient and provider and can even lead to negative feelings of the patient that far outweigh the diagnosis itself. A feeling of hopelessness and despair may accompany the empty feeling that comes with failing to explore the patient’s perspective on care. In this essay, Parrish states,
Medicine is a science of healing, but also an art. It takes intelligence in the sciences as well as precise skill in the art of medicine to heal successfully. In the Hippocratic Oath, Hippocrates highlights the importance of passing on the tradition of practicing medicine, maintaining respect for patients, and preserving humility within themselves. Modern day practice of this oath involve patient’s stories. Rita Charon in her article “What to do with Stories? The sciences of Narrative Medicine,” explores narrative writing and how to use it as a tool in healing patients. While Charon focuses on the writing of these stories, Atul Gawande’s book Being Mortal reflects on how to make more meaningful endings out of the stories of patients who
I knew doctors could be wrong in some diagnoses so I set out to prove them wrong. This was the pivotal moment in my life where I realized the importance of literacy in my life and my child's development. Literacy is evolving at a rapid pace and I knew if my daughter started off behind she will struggle
Grace’s story should serve as proof that doctors should always run the correct tests to ensure that their patients are properly diagnosed before it is too late. A newspaper article provided a story about a young woman who suffered from a cancerous growth that was misdiagnosed many times. Her illness was not taken seriously by doctors who accused her of being young and naive, even though she had had the cancerous disease since she was eight. "Doctors were just dismissing me all the time," she said. "They were really patronizing and treated me
Martin Weiser, Stuart H.Q. Chair at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, believes the advice provided “helps frame the cancer treatment discussion, set expectations, inform patients about complex therapies and support their participation in a difficult decision-making process” (Weiser). His job ensures each individual gains full awareness of their symptoms and which treatment plan is best, whether they get all the information from a physician or only some. The feeling is mutual with Lisa Hanchey, author of “WebMD: good or bad medicine?’ She focuses her article around the opinions of doctors. For example, Dr. Gautum explicitly states “an informed patient is one who is going to help me take care of them” (Hanchey). The doctors mentioned in her article all agree, a patient calling with questions of concern will benefit them rather than cause anxiety. Weiser and Hanchey reach a common ground because the results provided online are resourceful, but a doctor’s visit should occur shortly
As the cause of a painful death for six hundred thousand people annually, cancer affects nearly everyone in some way. Oncologist Vincent T. DeVita Jr., M.D. shares his journey while on, “the front lines of medicine,” and ,”reveals why the war on cancer is winnable- and how we can get there,”(front cover). Most think they know of the hardships cancer patients face, however, DeVita reaches knew depths to further the understanding of the disease to his readers by incorporating vast amounts of pathos and logos. Through over fifty years of extraordinary work in oncology, DeVita shares personal relationships with patients of his who survived and those not as fortunate. Since the fifties, survival rates of this disease lower every year, though
Just four years ago Emily Dumler was living a happy and healthy life with her husband and three kids. Until one summer afternoon when Emily started to feel unwell, her sickness indeed up getting so bad that she checked into urgent care. From there no one could figure out what was wrong with her, and Emily had to stay in the hospital for forty three days, before it was realized that she indeed had cancer. Emily says, “Scott (her husband) and I were actually relieved to find out I had cancer because what I had been going through for the last forty three days was so rough and we wanted to find a treatment that could help me.
Hearing a diagnosis of cancer leaves most patients in a state of shock and unsure of what their next step should be. While they are still wrapping their brain around the diagnosis, they are being bombarded with information, testing, and multiple physician appointments. They need guidance and support to direct them through the complicated health care system in a timely fashion that reduces the delay in their treatment, as well as assist them in identifying and overcoming any barriers to these delays.
In 2011, my brother was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis which affected my entire family including myself. He went through many surgeries, many of which made it quite impossible for me to see him given that I was only 11 years old, and everything on that level in that hospital was contagious. Throughout, this period in my life my mother was always busy and I learned to slowly do my things on my own. Although it sounds crucial, I didn’t expect much from my mother given that she basically lived in the hospital. I fell into depression because my brother was my best friend and I couldn’t accept that he was in so much pain. I learned to overcome depression and slowly learned that life shouldn’t be taken for granted and I should believe in myself.
To say that this incident was the defining moment as to why I chose medicine would be an exaggeration, but it had undoubtedly been an affirmation of my decision. To embark on a career in Medicine was not an easy decision, and it was certainly not something that I had aspired to be from a young age. In fact, it took nearly half a decade of careful consideration and exploration before I reached this conclusion. My motivation to become a doctor stems not only from my love for science, but also from the special connection that is established between a patient and a doctor during diagnosis and consultation. The opportunity for devoting a lifetime to alleviating illnesses stands as my inspiration. I believe that there is no other profession that can be compared to one which utilizes one’s acquired abilities to bring about a more immediate impact on someone’s life, just as this experience had
To begin with, I will look at what cancer is. I would like to look at cancer as a disease and the social determinants of this perspective. I would then like to investigate cancer as an illness and look at the narrative of this experience including its social determinants. Finally, I will address the differences and similarities between the two.
Have you ever heard about ulcerative colitis? For those that have not or might want to know a little more information regarding this disease here are in this essay you will learn the definition, risk factors, symptoms, if there is any treatment to cure and many more important details that many of us should take into consideration.
In the ED, I spent several hours observing medical procedures and patient interactions with Drs. Heagle, Abraham, and Ahmad, all of whom were willing to educate me on the logic behind their differential diagnoses. Through their collective enthusiasm for this field and
The words shot out of her mouth while she cried. “I have breast cancer,” my mother announced while in the arms of my father. As evolutionary principles describe, we fear the unknown, and to my family, this diagnosis presented an unknown. Remembering that my best friend’s mother passed away from this disease, I felt my world turn upside down. My mom was in shock, my dad was scared. A couple of days later, the physician contacted her. To our surprise, he was not discussing treatment options. Instead, he apologized profusely, and told my mom that she had been misdiagnosed. Her results indicated a false positive. Until then, my perception of medicine had been strictly scientific, but my mother’s psychological state in that moment rattled my