My Experience With Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

One time, I was taken aback and saddened by a patient yelling a plea to God as she was suffering through tremendous pain. As I walked into the room, the first thing this patient did was stop yelling and attempt to put on a calm face. It was a sobering moment, but I proceeded to ask her if I could do anything to help. What struck me most about this moment, was how much fight this lady could conjure up to hide her pain and yet still remain compassionate towards me. I hadn't expected anything, but this experience was a brilliant reminder of why I wanted so badly to improve the conditions of patients across the medical spectrum. I couldn't fathom the extent of this patient's pain, but I could fathom the idea of pain itself. In the patient, I saw a little bit of myself. I wanted to help this patient greatly and desired the means to do so. In this patient, I saw the nature of humanity. Human beings, for the most part, are inherently good and strive to be selfless even at their weakest moments. In fact, most people I know tend to be more worried about others than themselves, whether it be from a positive or negative perspective. As I got to know this patient, I realized how much she wanted to be with her family and see her grandchildren grow up. Though she was aware of the pain and suffering, she was also aware of what could be once she got through this struggle. Once I become a medical doctor, I can give back

My life experiences gave me a view of what nurses and other health care providers do. They, along with personal life situations, gave me an understanding that human life is important and fragile. The people I met and how my life turned out, shaped and affected my personal qualities and my choice to study in becoming a nurse. Ever since

One major experience that has shaped me as a person would be the decision to join FFA my freshman year. FFA has allowed me many incredible opportunities and experiences these past four years.

I watched all of my friends and peers take for granted what they could do, I noticed that I was not the only one who was affected by injuries. I observed how many injuries are used to the side and become untreated. I also released many other teenagers in my school who wore amputees or had medical conditions that held them back. This is what fortified my wanting to be a doctor, specifically an Interventional Radiologist. I helped inform many of my friends and team mates of how pushing yourself past your limits sometimes may not be good for the

"BOOM!" "BANG!", went my mom of her feet onto the floor! I ran over to help pick her up off the floor. I got her into the bed and checked for any scrapes or bruises. After I got her all patched up and comfortable I came to realize that the last time this happened she hadn't had her medicine in days. So I proceeded to give her the correct medication and stayed over the next few days to nurse her back to health. Over those few days even at a young age, I realized that the medical field was just for me. I enjoyed doing what I did to help my mom and wanted to continue to help others the same way I helped her.

The person who first sparked my interest in pursuing a career in medicine was my Mom. She used to tell me a story and say “you are one of my many miracles sweetie.” After being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and undergoing multiple rounds of chemo and radiation, the doctor told my Mom she would

I had a first hand, hands on experience learning what a P.A does on a daily basis. I worked in the room with P.As, helping complete dictations, set up for procedures, and work with patients on their paperwork. Doing this, I realized that I would love to do the work I did and saw for the rest of my life. The experience solidified both my aspirations in the medical field and more specifically, in P.A studies. I was fortunate enough to work directly in the field.

As we rushed into the ambulance with sirens wailing, I was filled with trepidation. When an individual is so attached to someone, they forget that it could all end. They expect more, thinking they have forever, but they never know when it might be the last time. I endured the one I love in a life threatening experience and this encouraged me to want to become a part of the medical field where I can instill hope in people when they need it the most. Witnessing my mother have a heart attack consequently helped me realize I want to assist people in emergency situations.

During the first week of my undergraduate shadowing career I had an experience that dramatically shaped my ideology of what it meant to work in healthcare. I was shadowing a physician at Medina Community Hospice Care as well as the nurse practitioner that worked with him. Most mornings started with the medical team reviewing the patient charts and discussing the events that had happened during the night. It was an atmosphere where the passing of an individual was marked not as a tragedy, but a beautiful occurrence that was characterized by a wide range of emotions. These were truly

An experience that has made a profound impact on my life was when I directed and completed a community service project to fulfill a requirement for the Eagle Scout Award in the Boy Scouts of America. In order to competently act as coordinator for this service project, I had to develop both my interpersonal communication and leadership capabilities to a proficient level. Besides improving my professional skills, this project gave me the opportunity gain hands on experience working with groups of people who had varying skill levels. So, not only did these skills allow me to complete the project successfully, they have also proven incredibly useful throughout my academic career.

The hospital in D.C. was in a low socioeconomic area and my knowledge base of wounds, hypertension and diabetes improved. I also learned how to let go of some of my own biases and judgments of people different than myself.

An experience that has provided me with the most growth as a person is my involvement in mentoring an at-risk teen in Athens, GA for 3 years. Mentoring has improved my leadership and interpersonal skills. It kept me accountable to living at a higher standard in order to be a positive role model for another person. I also developed a greater appreciation for diversity from spending time with a person from a culture much different from my own. Overall this experience instilled a passion for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, social status, gender, or age. A genuine interest for others motivates me to learn more about human behaviors and pursue a career in counseling. Another experience I have that has provided me with opportunities to grow and improve is my experience as an intern at Jay’s Hope Foundation. The Jay’s Hope Foundation offers many different avenues of support to children diagnosed with cancer and their families. I was able to be in direct contact with families facing life-threatening situations. It was a very emotionally heavy internship, but I learned so much and was encouraged by the resiliency of the children and families. At Jay’s Hope, I learned the importance of teamwork, I developed flexibility, I became more organized, and I gained more confidence in my ability to

It was not until my senior high school year when I had my first exposure to Medicine. I joined the Better Life Institute, a volunteer group that organizes a weekly medical convoys to provide medical service for underprivileged villages in Egypt, where I regularly attended the clinics and also assisted with the logistics and administrative duties. I also became a member of a team that supports and arranges home visits to cancer patients. This was an eye opening experience that made me realized the impact of emotional and spiritual well-being on patients’ prognosis, and I discovered how the simplest of well-chosen words can provide a priceless comfort to a suffering patient. This experience motivated me beyond any expectation and I realized there was no better way for me to pursue science and achieve satisfaction than through Medicine.

The event that I attended was the African Ancestry and High Risk/Triple Negative Breast Cancer lecture given by Lisa A. Newman, MD. The experience I had when attending was very educational and informative. Before going to this event I didn’t even know that there was a thing called Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

It was the end of my first year of medical school, as I sat beside my grandmother I realized a lot had changed from my last visit. My grandmother, the woman who came to Canada to help raise me, who was once strong and full of energy, was now frail, with blisters all over her skin and unable to sit upright without help. Reading about Diabetes is one aspect of learning, but actually seeing its effects gave me a whole new perspective about what it means to be a doctor.