living with cancer - communications at the hospital

The patient should have an opportunity to ask questions to elicit a better understanding of the
treatment or procedure, so that he or she can make an informed decision to proceed or to refuse
a particular course of medical intervention.

This communications process, or a variation thereof, is both an ethical obligation
and a legal requirement spelled out in statutes and case law in all 50 states.
American Medical Association / Web page describing "Informed Consent"

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Last week Bill developed what might have been a "mild" case of pneumonia, however "mild" a lung infection can be at the same time one is hospitalized for cancer.

I suspect he even knew ~ intuitively ~ that he had contracted it. He'd been coughing some one day last week when I visited. We went downstairs, sat in the yard between buildings one/two and the older complex, and he mentioned something about getting an infection.

He did not go for radiation/chemo on Friday. Sat the weekend anticipating going Monday but when that came nothing happened. Oh, no, he was moved to a new ward. We knew that was coming.

I called early this morning to find out what was going on. Today, he learned at 1130 that he was not going for treatment again today. No reason provided. He got anxious. Over the phone I heard someone telling that someone from oncology was coming to see him.

Still with no answers I left work to see what was going on. As I was pulling into the VA Center, a call came from the oncology team. He had pneumonia. Yes we told him. He ought to have known that we won't treat him while he's getting antibiotics... but not to worry since the growth is slow and this should be resolved by the end of the week [meaning, I suppose, that treatments start next week].

One of the most frustrating things to deal with is not knowing. As I drove toward the center [made it in record time ~ less than half an hour] I kept thinking the worst. This is a repeat concern. Bill keeps asking to be told what's going on. So do I.

Might have to just move in and park myself in order to know what is going on.

Again, all that said, people working here are not uncaring; too busy sometimes, perhaps ~ which can happen at most any hospital. Yet the docs don't communicate their knowledge until after the frustration tipping point. Don't they get it? In the process of being an informed consenter getting the details from the docs does not seem to be too much to ask for.

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IMAGE CREDIT: Lungs Home Health which touts iteslef as "the UK's leading provider of drug testing products, pregnancy tests, ovulation tests, DNA Paternity Tests and home testing kits. The image was found at What Are Lungs?, a webpage put together by Nandini Thogarapalli, a grade five student at Dr. E.W. Coffin School, Calgary, Canada, as a science project that looks at lung cancer.

living with cancer - day one chemo/radiation

Getting started on cancer treatment is a bit like driving into a dark tunnel with no directionals.

I don't know if my friend had his first treatment today. Nursing staff in the afternoon they can't say for sure that he went to the cancer center; the nurse only knew that he was on the ward when she came on duty.

A different nurse, later on, reports that his ride didn't pick him up on time, but remains equally uncertain if he'd gone today for treatment [Shouldn't that be in the record?].

What is certain is that he was moved to a new ward, with nurses who don't know him nor his quirks and eccentricities.

I expect I'll hear a rasher asking "...is it bark or bite" when he lashes out loud and verbal. [It's bark, basically] He's in pain! He's got esophageal cancer! ...and nobody's taking the time to either explain all this or provide a bit of TLC. Surely nursing is more than reading blood pressure gauges and finding another vein to stick.

health care - contrasts

I work at a large inpatient psychiatric facility. As readers may surmise, of late, I've also been spending a lot of time at a large medical hospital. I can't help but find myself intrigued with the contrasts.

Attentiveness to care is one of the most glaring, as it were. At the medical facility, staff conducting routine checks on patients take time to speak with patients, they ask after their well-being, and respond to concerns about some fresh malady.

In contrast, where I work, there are many staff [not all] who seem to take umbrage about "being forced" to conduct a census, where all they do is fill in a check mark or an "X" on a pre-printed list to account for a patient on the unit. Forget about the niceties of taking a second to acknowledge the patient's presence.

I wonder how different my workplace might be if those who behave as if speaking to a patient is a demeaning imposition, actually took the time to show concern for the folks they are charged with taking care of.

Another contrast is the presence of numerous clinical specialists walking about and on the units ~ and on different work shifts ~ and speaking directly with patients about their current medical condition. In less than a week, I have been present on four separate occasions when different doctors actually came and spoke with my friend - at some length - about steps being taken in his care. One of the docs was a management level administrator in her discipline. I have observed this happening with other patients as well.

In contrast, unless the clinician is assigned to the unit, it is uncommon for specialists to speak with patients about their care or treatment. Even rarer for managerial personnel to show up on the patient wards at all.

Again, if they took they time, how might it affect the quality of care provided to the patients were I work? Just wondering.

other voices - BillP

"I believe a long time ago that God got hurt; that is why people got hurt"
BillP

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IMAGE CREDITS: William Blake - "Ancient of Days"