Prostate Cancer

Digital Story

• During my placement in a community, I met a 70 years old gentleman, named John, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He had been living with his wife for the last 45 years. Prostate cancer mostly affects prostate gland, which leads the fluid and secretion to exit the individual’s body (Nordqvist, 2017)
• Prior to being diagnosed with prostate cancer, John was always a cheerful man and enjoyed his retired life with his wife. The test that was used to diagnose cancer in case of John was a digital rectal examination (DRE). The doctor manually checked for finding out any abnormalities in the prostrate area. In addition, a biomarker test was also conducted to examine blood and urine samples (Nordqvist, 2017)
• However, the prostate cancer posed an adverse impact on his health conditions, as he was losing his ability to walk, which in turn affected his self-confidence largely. Men are prone to the development of such risk, in case they are diagnosed with the life-threatening diseases as for example cancer (Nordqvist, 2017)
• The fear of dying could be clearly observed in his eyes, even though John tried to hide his emotions through anger and frustration. His wife also explained the fact that, his mental health started to deteriorate when the friends he made during the hospice session expired one after another
• He could no longer communicate in a clear accent, as his speech went on getting more and impaired with the passage of time (Nelson et.al., 2008). I understood John’s difficulty with speech and therefore, promptly notified my mentor that he should be referred to the speech therapist
• I observed a great effort being given for John’s treatment amid the multidisciplinary team. He was provided with various measures including mobility aid by the occupational therapist along with the physiotherapist team in order to assist John with several movement exercises
• District nurses and GP doctors were also found to be communicating effectively with each other and ensured that all his medication were being given appropriate with respect to pain management
• According to Nursing and Midwifery Code (2015), it is essential for the multidisciplinary team to cooperate and communicate effectively to provide necessary patient care in the hospital settings 
• What I have learned more from the experiences is that care does not stop with therapies and medications. Emotional support also forms a significant part of providing palliative care for such patients
• It was further observed that John’s wife became more involved in the process of his caregiving. She was more focused on administering and organizing John’s medicine and in return John concentrated largely on his eating habits, especially the dietary ones that were being served to him
• From my personal experience, I can state that person-centric care refers to the planning and providing of care, which focuses largely on meeting the overall demands of an individual
• Reflecting on the care we provided to John, I strongly had a feeling that multidisciplinary team always provides proper care that is suitable for the patient and not the caregiver
• Although John faced difficulty in verbally communicating with us, I always ensured that he understood the procedures that I was carrying out
• John made me realize that even if a patient is unable to communicate with other people, his/her opinions and viewpoints should never be ignored. After all, it is their body and are free to decide what best for them

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