Caring for my medically wary patients
Formerly terrified of mammograms, now a dork who wants photo evidence of her courage! ;)
Holistic hippie raver, medically-averse vaccine-skeptic crunchy mama — that was me.
As a nurse, that gives me a unique ability to support and advocate for patients who are scared or skeptical of the medical world, the way I was scared of mammograms and almost any medical intervention.
It wasn’t until my 3rd year of nursing education, when I learned how to read and interpret scientific literature, that I realized I had been led down a rabbit hole lead by profiteers in the “wellness” world, into the depths of mistrust and misunderstandings about science and medicine. (I wrote about it in my 2021 blog post Confessions of a (former) vaccine skeptic.)
I still love my herbal teas and remedies, acupuncture, meditation, and yoga, but I also understand the benefits of medical science including surgery, medications, and diagnostic tools. I also see how confusing and overwhelming our healthcare system can be, and not all physicians or nurses are skilled at explaining diagnoses or treatment recommendations to patients — let alone medically-wary patients.
I enjoy supporting my patients who are medically-averse and anxious about medicine and all the machines and technology we use.
I get it! I delayed my first mammogram (and colonoscopy!) because of fear. I imagined a huge room-sized mammogram machine that was controlled remotely by someone in another room, and the huge machine would come crashing down on my breasts, causing severe injury, changing my life forever. Thank goodness I was wrong! The mammogram machine is small, and the technologist manually controls it while she’s standing right there with you. Way less terrifying! And guess what — my colonoscopy wasn’t bad either. Best nap I’d had in ages!
Working in breast cancer and breast health, we see many patients who have avoided medical interventions. They are often wary of mammograms, surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Some have such mistrust in the healthcare sphere that they’ve spent thousands of dollars on “alternative” treatments and supplements sold by practitioners who claim they will get rid of their cancer (with high dose vitamin C, ozone therapy, coffee enemas, etc.), or catch their cancer sooner (with thermography or ultrasounds). Unfortunately, many turn up in our exam rooms with cancer that has grown or spread, sometimes even erupting through the skin in a non-healing wound that the “alternative” doctors keep treating unsuccessfully. The delay in effective medical care makes treatment more challenging and their prognosis is often far worse than if we had seen them when they were first diagnosed or felt symptoms. It’s tragic to witness.
I have worked with many doctors and even fellow nurses who have expressed concern about medically-averse patients, and sometimes it comes out as judgements like, “If they had started their mammograms at 40 like they’re supposed to, it wouldn’t be this bad.” That is likely true, but people have many reasons for being wary of medical interventions, or distrustful of our profit-driven medical system (in the U.S.). I appreciate sharing my perspective with fellow practitioners of why people might feel the way they do, and often share my experiences of prior fear and skepticism. I enjoy being a bridge between the wellness or alternative health world and the medical world — for my patients and for fellow practitioners. (P.S. I don’t like these terms, “wellness” and “alternative” and “medical” because it pigeon-holes all of us into narrowly-defined categories).
I often coach and encourage my patients with cancer to go for acupuncture, Reiki, meditate — whatever modalities they enjoy and benefit from — while they’re in medical treatment. These modalities can make surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy much more tolerable, and help you emotionally/mentally through challenging times.
If you are skeptical of our healthcare system, you have good reason and are not alone — but I hope that you will approach breast health and wellness with an open mind, and have some trust in these amazing diagnostic tools we have to detect disease, so that if anything ever did pop up, it would be caught early and require as little treatment as possible for a safe outcome and a long life.
To your health and peace,
Siobhan
My writings are for informational and educational purposes only. I do not give medical advice. Please consult with your provider before making any medical decisions.