Just another quick blog from the free clinic. Received via UPS the new booklet that the AARC has published with regards to smoking cessation. It is really an excellent resource guide, easily read. The nice part is that there is a tabluation about how much it costs to smoke. It is based on a pack at the price of $5.00 per pack. It also explains the chemistry as to why people feel they need to smoke. Just a nice little booklet. All of our patients in the free clinic will not only get the information for our state quit line but also this booklet.
Last week, one of our diabetics came in and proudly announced she had quit. We celebrated. She of course decided to quit because she had an URI and was unable to breathe well enough.
The latest story from the clinic is that of a 30+ yr old patient who came to the clinic with a large lesion, post auricular, right below their ear and at the base of their skull. We have a dermatologist who volunteers and he removed the lesion. Of course he couldn't tell if it looked suspicious enough. So off to pathology it went, it took several sets of eyes to finally come to the ultimate conclusion. The patient is a musician by trade with no steady income and obviously no health insurance. On Thursday, the results were in, a stage 3 melanoma. They had their first appointment with the surgeon today and they will now have surgery to open up the area and explore. Also their lymph nodes will be tested for spread. It is just such a tough time of year to get such a diagnosis and now of course the fear settles in of how it will be paid for.
It is tough enough to watch as patients endure other things but a diagnosis of this magnitude is just devastating. This makes #32 cancers and all more difficult and complicated cancers.
Thanks,
Bette