Interview with Patient Breast Cancer - Assignment Example

Summary and interview: breast cancer Summary The respondent of the interview is an immigrant Mexican female. She is 42 years old with four children. She holds part time job as household help. The first symptom of breast cancer appeared when she was 40 years old. Diagnosis came after few months when pain is beginning to manifest with some blood discharging from her nipples evident with the marks in her bra. It was recommended by her doctor to have a mastectomy but she insisted on taking medications instead due to lack of money and insurance coverage. Breast cancer is a cancer that forms in the tissues of the breast. There are two types of breast cancer. One is ductal carcinoma and the other is lobular carcinoma. Ductal carcinoma is a cancer that occurs in the lining of the milk duct and is the most common type of breast cancer (National Cancer Institute, nd). This is the type of cancer that afflicted the respondent patient. Lobular carcinoma on the other hand is a breast cancer that begins in the milk glands or lobules of the breast. Breast cancer can be invasive and can spread to other areas surrounding the tissue from where it began. Breast cancer also afflict both men and women albeit it is more prevalent among women. The symptoms of breast cancer includes presence of a lump or thickening in the breast, swelling, dimpling, redness, soreness of skin, change in shape or appearance of the nipple and nipple discharge (American Cancer Society, 2010). In our respondent, the initial symptoms were a small lump in the left breast. A small discharge of blood from her nipples which could be observed from the marks in her bra. According to related literatures, genetics is a very small factor in the occurrence of breast cancer. It only composed of around 5 to 10% of all recorded cases (Wattendorf, 2012). What is more prevalent cause of breast cancer is risky lifestyle, lack of children to breastfeed, high levels of hormones and unhealthy eating habits including obesity. Of these causes, smoking tobacco has the highest risk. Long term tobacco smoking increases the risk of contracting breast cancer by as much as 35 to 50% (Miller et al., 2011). Lifestyle, could be the risk factor in the case of the respondent since she is a long-term smoker where tobacco smoking is part of her cultural background. Diagnosis of breast cancer is through tissue sample or biopsy. Treatment includes taking medication such as monoclonal antibodies and hormone blocking therapy, chemotherapy, radiation and mastectomy. The Interview Me: Hi, good morning. My name is ____. I came here to interview you about your illness for ___ class. Is that okay with you? Respondent: It is okay. You can go ahead and ask questions. Me: what is your illness Respondent: I have breast cancer. Me: How long do you have your breast cancer Respondent: I have this for close to a year now Me: Did you immediately know that it is breast cancer? Respondent: No. I thought, it was something else. Me: Such as? Respondent: I thought I am getting mumps or something that will just go away. Me: What were the symptoms then that led to think that it may be breast cancer? Respondent: At first I just ignored the lumps in my breast because I did not feel any pain. Then one day, I felt pain in my left breast. It was not very painful it is tolerable. So I waited for the pain to just go away and hoped everything will be back to normal. Me: Why didn’t you ask for help or see a doctor when you are feeling pain already? Respondent: I did not have the money to pay the doctor. I was afraid that the doctor might asked for a lot of money. I also do not want to bother my family and friends because we are also very tight with money. Kids go to school, a lot of bills to pay, sometimes we even miss grocery. So paying the doctor is least of our priority. Me: when did you decide to seek help and see a doctor? Respondent: after few months of delaying it hoping it will just go away. I got scared when there were some bloods coming out of my nipple. There were not a lot. Just few, I can see it my bra. I got very scared. So I thought its now time to see the doctor. Me: how was the process with the doctor? I mean how did the treatment begun? Respondent: well, at first he asked me a lot of questions. When did the lumps begun, how I felt, the blood, other observations, etch etch a lot of questions. Then she examined me physically. Holding it, pressing it, asking a lot of questions such does it hurt here, there. She then said she suspected that it might be breast cancer but she wanted to be sure. She scheduled me for a lab. I was hesitant then but she stressed that it is important that she does biopsy. And she also explained the possibility of breast cancer that scared the hell out of me. A biopsy I think that’s how she called it. She told me the earlier it is detected, the better. Me: then what was the diagnosis? Respondent: so I showed up in the lab and the biopsy was done. We got the result and then she examined it. Then finally she told me the bad news, I got breast cancer. Stage 1. She called it ductal carcinoma whatever that means. Me: how old were you then? And then what happened? Respondent: I was scared. I was in tears. I then asked her a lot of questions like am I gonna die? But most of all that I was scared is that how are we going to pay for the bills and who would take care of my children if I die. They are still small you know. My husband does not earn much and I am not sure if he knows how to look after the children. Me: Then what was the doctor prescribe to you? What was the treatment she prescribed? Respondent: she recommended a mastectomy. To remove the left breast which has the cancer so that it will no longer spread. Me: and? Respondent: But I was worried about the cost. You see, we didn’t have money. Where will we get the money? I asked how much will it cost us and when the doctor told us the cost, there’s no way we could afford that. She told me that it will be covered by insurance but told the good doctor we have no health insurance. Me: then what did happen? Respondent: I begged the doctor if there’s another way to treat my breast cancer. Told her we had no money for the surgery. That my children are still small and going to school and that my husband cant afford it. Me: and was an alternative given? What was it if ever? Respondent: she gave me this medicine that would help to diminish the cancer since it is still in stage 1. I am still medicating on it today. She however still insisted that she would still recommend a mastectomy to be sure. Me: so how’s the medication going? Respondent: I think the lump has been reduced and the blood stopped coming out of my nipples. But I still take the medicine and go to the doctor once in a while for check up. Me: are you cured now? Respondent: no. not yet. I really hope that this medication will do since it is just benign. References CancerQuest | Breast Cancer: Symptoms. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2015, from http://www.cancerquest.org/breast-cancer-symptoms-and-detection.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwx9KpBRCAiZ_tgYKWvhQSJABQjGW-mPZrWGHZnidKJzpqwo3Jkqj7qlqIxPNdan7bCYBMAxoCyMfw_wcB Gage M, Wattendorf D, Henry LR (1 April 2012). "Translational advances regarding hereditary breast cancer syndromes". Journal of surgical oncology 105 (5): 444–51. doi:10.1002/ Johnson KC, Miller AB, Collishaw NE, Palmer JR, Hammond SK, Salmon AG, Cantor KP, Miller MD, Boyd NF, Millar J, Turcotte F (Jan 2011). "Active smoking and secondhand smoke increase breast cancer risk: the report of the Canadian Expert Panel on Tobacco Smoke and Breast Cancer Risk (2009).". Tobacco control 20(1): e2. doi:10.1136/tc.2010.035931 Read More