Cancer survivor speaks on caregivers

At the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center’s Sixth Annual Celebration of Women in Health Care on May 21, Kelley Tuthill, Team 5 Investigative Reporter and a cancer survivor, shared meaningful words on what health care providers should do – and should not do – when taking care of patients.

She recalled a moment when she was upset about how she would get through grueling radiation treatments coming on the heels of her round of chemotherapy.

She was worried that she would start to cry, leading the technician to call a social worker when she didn’t at the time want to talk more about her feelings. Instead, the technician who gave her the radiation treatment said, “We’re here for you.” Tuthill said that this comment made her feel like a human being – not only a patient – and helped make her feel better at a difficult time.

In contrast, she recounted when her doctor told her abruptly that she had cancer while she was alone and disrobed on the examination table a couple of days before a holiday. She expressed that, even as a journalist who wanted all the facts, she would have preferred to be informed when she was dressed, with her husband and more prepared to hear her diagnosis.