Cyst Reflection

I had never given much thought into how I would die. There’s something about being young that causes us to believe we’re invincible. It’s not like dying young is uncommon, it’s just that there’s something extra despairing about a life ending before it had really begun. Over the past 18 years, I’ve never thought twice about my mortality. I mean, it wasn’t anything special to me. I knew that I would eventually die, but eventuallies aren’t always as far as you think. Here I am, only 18 years old, my cold body

Being diagnosed with cancer can be very scared because the person that is been diagnosed is not prepared to receive the tremendous news. When Henrietta find out that she had cervical cancer, she did not tell anyone and went on with her day as if nothing had happened. Rebecca Skloot states that Henrietta told “Day and the children not to worry,” “A int’ nothing serious wrong, she said““Doctor’s gonna fix me right up” (Skloot 31). In the article “Keeping Cancer a Secret” author Dr. Mikkael Sekeres ask his patient “how are they [children] dealing with your diagnosis” (1). The reason he chose to not tell was that this son was away in duty on

This time he did a lot of test: urine test, blood test, and a lot of poking, tapping, looking, and listening. I was afraid I had contracted some awful disease, like cancer. My Medicare and Medicare Supplement pays for everything, so I wasn’t worried about that. I have to pay for the Medicare and the Supplement, but the coverage is better than Medicaid coverage. For example, I had a knee replacement, and Medicare and the Supplement

It was near the end of a clinic day when I escorted a mother and her four year old daughter to room three, laid out her chart, and put up an x-ray of a the child's knee. Once the doctor had finished with the patient in room two, walked over to the x-ray display, pointed to four small pointed bone protrusions, silently put up the x ray of her shoulder, pointed to another three then sighed. After turning to see what was probably a confused look on my face, he said a single word- tumors. I had seen several other patients with cancer; usually it was caught early, and treatment began very soon after. However, that was not the case here. I stood discreetly by the door as it was explained to the patient's mother, with the help of a translator as the doctor didn’t know Spanish and the mother English, that in order to give her daughter the best possible chance, they would have to take her four hours north of here to a hospital in San Antonio. The mother replied in a small voice that that wouldn’t be possible

"In life, there are times when we choose our challenges and other times when the challenges simply choose us” - Travis Roy. I don’t remember what happened to me, I was told I was hit by a car. I was placed in a medically induced coma, for a month. Slowly, the doctor lowered the sedatives to see how I can breathe on my own, within six weeks everything was removed. I woke up; there were family and friends around my hospital bed. I was confused because I had no idea what happened. Mom and Uncle Ray told me stories about how angry I was and would try to get out of bed.

Imagine how difficult life can really be, that despite a lifetime of surgeries, serious illnesses, and losing your family to political in-fighting, you still manage to get your degrees and build a successful business over the last 25 years. Then there’s another catch: you’re going to die twice by 20 and have 51 surgeries by 50. You have to endure 4 open-heart surgeries at ages 4, 12, 34, then again in 2015 at age 50. Your first flat-lining heart attack comes at 12, the second one comes at 20. You have been dead for over 5 minutes of your life but you feel blessed to be alive and eager to keep living the best life you can…even though medically, there’s more to be done!

Due to an abnormal results from my annual Pap smear exam, I was brought back into my Gynecologists office for a cervical biopsy procedure. I’m admitted into the procedure room where all my vitals where taken and medical history is verified. I’m walked through the procedure so I know what to expect. I’m asked to undress from the waist down and asked to put on a gown. The physician comes in and asks me to lay down on the table, put my feet up on the stirrups and to scoot my bottom down. The physician inserts the speculum into the vaginal area and inserts the colposcope to see if there are any obvious areas that need to be biopsied. The physician then inserts an acetic acid solution as well as an iodine solution

-Five-minute conversation about medical history, no examination except a Pap smear and very little medical decision making.

Thanks for the great post. Considering the patient personal and family history, your diagnosis is appropriate, although a confirmatory diagnostic tests and referral to a surgeon is highly recommended. I do also agree with the treatment plan of chemotherapy and radiation in most cases before surgery to reduce the tumor size and prevent metastasis. To help the patient with the tough time and improve the healing process, providing adequate support (education and emotional) is advise. Encourage the patient to enjoy times with family and friends, rent a comedy movie, practice meditation or prayers will be beneficial. The patient should be encouraged to appreciate and enjoy each day as a gift, also seek healing and optimal health.

I still have more doctors appointments ahead of me to make sure that it is a benign tumor, meaning cancer less, and there will be further questions as to if this is something that could raise my chances of getting breast cancer in the future.

I have completed 174 hours between both clinical sites. I have completed my primary care hours and have one more day with my women’s health preceptor. The situation discussed below is an example of Joanne Duffy’s Quality Care Model. The Quality Care Model focuses on the importance of forming caring relationships among patients, their families and the healthcare team to improve patient outcomes. During my women’s health rotation, we had a 15 year old girl come to the office because she was having irregular menstrual cycles. I went into the exam room, while my preceptor stayed in his office reviewing charts. When I entered the room, the patient was sitting on the exam table, obviously nervous. She was looking down, shoulders slouched, fidgeting her hands, and swinging her feet. Her mom sat in the chair next to her. I introduced myself to the patient and her mom.

Despite having an abnormal lump in my medulla oblongata, cancer felt unreal to me. For my entire life, my parents and oncologist had danced around the word “cancerous”.

It was a cold day in Utah and I was on my way to the Salt Lake City Regional Hospital for my yearly mammogram. I have no history of breast cancer in my family but I still worried about it, especially after watching my best friend go through treatment. My appointment was in the afternoon so I had to leave work early. My husband offered to go with me and give me moral support since these appointments always scare me. I had a feeling something was wrong and I knew deep down the outcome of this day could change my life forever. After going through this whole experience, it has made me realize the importance of mammograms and self-examinations, which are key in early detection for breast cancer in women of all ages.

It was a warm summer night in my neighborhood. The neighbor kids, my brothers, and I were riding our bikes around the court. Then out of nowhere my bike flips over my body and lands with my leg between the bars. My father being the loving man he was said, "Get up and rub some dirt on it." It took fifteen minutes and my older brother yelling at my dad to finally come and get me. They came up, pulled the bike, and realized that my knee was touching the back of my foot, which lead to my father saying, "I don't think that’s supposed to look like that." My father brought me back into the house and called my mom to come get me. I took three hours of x-rays, nurses, and doctors running in and out of my room to establish I just had a freak accident of a break. One nurse even came in and said, "She needs to be medevacked to Children's Hospital," therefore my mother lit into him for saying that to a ten-year-old. My biggest fear out of all of this wasn't that I was going to be in a thigh high cast for many months, but that I was going to die. I was so freaked out about this whole situation that I feared the worst, which was death. My fears got the best of me in many ways throughout my life. Unfortunately, I have missed out on great opportunities from my fear that also brings its heavy baggage anxiety. Therefore, I constantly question, will I overcome my fears?