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Posted by Diane C.-TX on 9/14/2007, 9:26 am, in reply to "home from hospial"
68.116.144.214
....it's absolutely mind boggling to have health care professionals display no empathy whatsoever. I still feel hurt and angry from the substandard treatment I received at a cancer center nearly three years ago. I should have sensed something was wrong the very first day...walking into a waiting room with other cancer victims sitting staring at their shoes, no eye contact, no talking--but I was still in shock from just finding out I had cancer. Then I heard someone enter the room and shout "972" and point to me. I was no longer a dignified person with a name, I was issued a number so they can collect stats from my dx/txs. I was only one of a few that requested a med-port to be implanted for chemo/lab purposes. My port was usually assessed in the waiting room, shirt opened for all to gaze, or in a semi-private area--the corner closet where all the completely filled sharps container boxes were stored! By my fourth visit, I was labeled as "the patient who had anger issues". This happened immediately after I heard my number called. I asked that nurse if she was holding my chart. When she said yes, I grabbed the chart out of her hand and ripped it in half. Then I stood in middle of waiting room and declared-rather vocally, that I was not a number, and neither were any of the other victims in that waiting room. We are human beings and deserve to be respected, and treated by those who truly care....Things did not get much better for me, however, the other patients were treated more kindly and called by their first names. That's when I knew I needed to be a patient advocate. That's when my personal battle began. The irony of it all, is that when I posted my resume online, I was offerred a job, four different times, from the center I was humiliated at. I turned them down each time and took a job at a center further away. I gage my job performance by how my patients evaluate me each day. The fire in my belly is more controlled, but I must admit, it is something I reach for, when I disagree with a coworker:nurse, doctor, or manager. Somehow, God tames my tongue, so I can protect my patients and still remain "professional" to remain employed there these past 10 months. Wow, look at me ramble on. Ok, take a deep slow breathe......I just want you to know that you have every right to demand your treatments be done by skillful and empathetic health care proffessionals--they MUST go hand-in-hand inorder for you to receive the care you desire and deserve. 
***This is one of the sketches I made while receiving chemo. May you enjoy wonderful and healthy days to come! Love, Di
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