Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct;36(5):1129-1130.
doi: 10.1007/s13187-020-01955-3. Epub 2021 Jan 11.

A Whole New World: A Medical Student's Reflection on the Moments Before Surgery for Breast Cancer

Grace Zhao  1 , Jory S Simpson  2   3   4
Affiliations

A Whole New World: A Medical Student's Reflection on the Moments Before Surgery for Breast Cancer

Grace Zhao et al. J Cancer Educ. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Medical school clerkship offers third year medical students multiple opportunities to acquire clinical experience through real patient interactions and integration into the healthcare teams of different specialties. As part of the general surgery rotation, medical students are invited to scrub in to assist with surgeries-a chance to simultaneously gain medical knowledge while developing technical skills. In what is often an impersonal experience for most patients, students are encouraged to consider the patient's perspective throughout their surgical journey from the pre-operative to post-operative stages. In this reflection, a third year medical student discusses her experience on the moments before breast surgery. From the point of view of a breast cancer patient, she reflects on the impact of a mastectomy on a patient's identity and comments on the importance of empathy in helping a patient grapple with their unique illness experience.

Keywords: Cancer journey; Communication; Doctor-patient relationship; Illness experience.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Collins KK, Liu Y, Schootman M, Aft R, Yan Y, Dean G, Jeffe DB (2011) Effects of breast cancer surgery and surgical side effects on body image over time. Breast Cancer Res Treat 126(1):167–176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-010-1077-7 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Helms RL, O'Hea EL, Corso M (2008) Body image issues in women with breast cancer. Psychol Health Med 13(3):313–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548500701405509 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sherman KA, Woon S, French J, Elder E (2017) Body image and psychological distress in nipple-sparing mastectomy: the roles of self-compassion and appearance investment. Psycho-Oncology 26(3):337–345. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4138 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources