Scan to Scan
A fog of emotions blankets the waiting room:
Stress and anxiety, with some impending doom.
Tag: cancer
Contributing Writer
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine
Nisitha is a third year MD/PhD student at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Her PhD will be in genetics with an emphasis in lung cancer metastasis. In 2016, she graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in molecular genetics. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, painting, and singing.
Grief Medicine
If someone asks me how my first year of medical school went, half of the time I dismiss them with a one-word answer, saving them from a conversation they aren’t ready to have. The other half of the time, I tell the truth, just to see what they have to say.
The Impacts of COVID-19 on Oncology
The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdown precipitated wide-ranging effects on nearly all aspects of our society. Perhaps some of the most severely affected patients were those fighting cancer. These patients have little physiologic resistance to COVID-19 and accordingly experience higher morbidity and mortality when infected.
CLL (Child Learning Love)
You call me on a Thursday to tell me / You were diagnosed with leukemia in October.
Long Walks in a Short Hall
I commented to the resident how satisfied the attending would be with the efficiency of his work. He just laughed and said “look” as he gestured down to his list of patients. I saw the name, and a sense of dread sank in during the rest of the silent walk down the hall.
Restrained
I proposed a deal to my fellow student on our surgery rotation. “You can have all the other cases today if I get the laryngectomy.”
Two Beds
Motionless, a man awakes from his stupor of heart. Relief from sharpness, the pooling and swelling.
Insight from a Then Cancer Survivor, Now a Medical Student
When I was told I had a mass in my chest, I was shocked. Like most people who are told that they have cancer, I was blindsided. But it was even more shocking because I had been going to multiple doctors over a period of six months complaining of pain in my chest, right arm, and right shoulder.
Tiger, Coco, Bella and Daisy
You tell me you’d like to be an engineer one day. You hesitate after the words “one day,” like you’re reconsidering the phrase. I want to tell you not to, but I can’t find the words.
6 y/o F: Patient Perspective of Illness
mom, what’s loo-skeem-ya? / oh okay — does that mean I’m loo-skeem-ya?
Nose
I take a deep breath / to calm myself / before walking into the storm / of OR shadowing.
The Patient In Room Four
I prepared myself to discuss lab results and dietary counseling. But then my eyes stumbled upon the words on my screen that seemed to be staring back at me: ‘Lung cancer, metastatic to the bone.’
Contributing Writer
Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Chika Nwosu is a fourth year medical student at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Miami, FL, class of 2020. She graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, then attended New York University for a post-baccalaureate pre-medical program. She is passionate about Women's Health and is currently advocating for the fight against Human Trafficking, and hopes to continue with it after graduating. When she does have free time, she enjoys dancing, painting and spending time with family and friends.