EMU’s M.A. in Biomedicine Program invites patients who have experienced medical issues to share their persepctives on healthcare. This is a unique event which allows students to empathize with these individuals and gain valuable insight on the field they wish to enter. The patient panel comprised of two cancer patients and a physician who’s father passed away from prostatic cancer. I’ll describe each patient and the important takeaways from the presentation.
Patient 1: A long-time employee of the UVA health system, patient 1 suffered from breast cancer. Patient 1 had both a sonogram and mammogram which revealed a 2.4 cm mass in her right breast confirming the diagnosis. She described the news as an “out of body” experience and felt overwhelmed when the healthcare team began to provide treatment options. Patient 1 explained to her doctor that she would need a little time to explore her options after consulting with her husband and family. The healthcare team consisted of a radiologist, oncologist, and surgical oncologist (specializing in breast cancer).
Major Takeaways:
-Patient 1 did not have a pleasant experience with her initial surgeon, so she opted to get a second opinion. She informed the audience that it is your job as a patient to have full control of your treatment plan and be well-informed by each physician. In addition, she noted that if you do not like your doctor it is okay to seek help from another professional. The surgeon did not build a good rapport with patient 1 and she felt that he undermined her input.
-The healthcare team bombarded her with a wealth of resources about her condition, treatment options, etc. but did not take the time to brief her on the most useful or pertinent information.
-Initially patient 1 was unsure of which direction to go, whether to choose surgery or chemotherapy first. Ultimately, she chose to have chemotherapy for 6 months which shrunk the mass and then proceeded to have a lumpectomy. Patient 1 had follow-up procedures to remove calcifications and described having “chemo-brain”. Chemo-brain is when a patient becomes forgetful with even the most basic tasks and feels extremely weak on a day-to-day basis.
Patient 2: A trained nurse who now in her 80’s suffered from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and pancreatic cancer. This patient was a long-time smoker who had multiple lesions in her pancreas which was removed at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. This patient had a history of illness from multiple trips to the hospital for pleural effusion, diverticulitis, etc. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after a follow-up with her physician, revealing metastatic cell growth at the end of her pancreas.
Major Takeaways:
-Patient 2 needed a skilled healthcare team to combat multiple symptoms and illnesses.
-Patient 2 also did not know exactly what to expect when her physicians conducted a procedure or injected her with a shot. She encouraged students who are entering the health professions to take the time to consult the patient on the types of sensations they may feel, side effects, etc. to put them at ease.
-It is important to look at patients as people first, and treat them the way you’d want to be treated. These individuals are at their most vulnerable state, so it is important to make them feel comfortable and inform them step-by-step of their treatment and prognosis.
Panel Member 3: Panel #3 was a healthcare professional whose father passed away from prostatic cancer. She described his condition as progressive and had to be transferred from Duke Medical Center to Johns Hopkins to be a part of an experimental trial. Panel #3’s father had high PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) levels which confirmed the prostate cancer diagnosis.
Major Takeaways:
-Panel #3 gave a medical perspective in which she relayed that she also had to argue with some of the healthcare staff because they were not adequately informing the patient or family members of her father’s prognosis. She felt that because Johns Hopkins was an academic teaching hospital they wanted to be aggressive with the treatment, yet did not take the time to deal with the underlying issue of treating the patient as a person first. Panel #3 described that her father had a lot of anxiety and that if the anxiety was treated first it would of made the experience a little more comforting before he passed.
-Hospice and palliative care are sensitive times for patients and family members. it is important to recognize how to relay information and how to break tragic news in a professional manner.
-The experimental trial: the patient was given medication to suppress testosterone levels, however the tumor actually grew, adversely affecting the patient’s overall condition.
-A doctor’s primary focus should not be research and experimental treatment, but rather focus on the addressing the patient’s needs to make them feel comforted and have dialogue and proper communication.
Overall, this was an eye opening experience. I learned the importance of getting to know your patient by learning something personal about them and taking the initiative to build a relationship. We are in dire need of well-trained physicians who express empathy, compassion, and are able to relate to their patient. The patient/panel members also described their insurance plans and reimbursement. I did not expand on this because as many of us know, medications are expensive and the patients still had a large out-of-pocket cost without proper reimbursement. I hope that you found this useful and if you have any questions please post and i’ll try to answer to the best of my ability.
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