She came with her husband and toddler. This husband showed tender concern for his wife, a beautiful sight in this culture where women are not personally valued. She estimated her age to be 28 years-old. Her birthdate was the typical January 1st, that of most of our patients because they can only guess.
She had a hard mass in her left breast. The tumor was big. Typical of the cancer we see here. There were also nodules under her left axilla (armpit) where cancer had spread to the lymph nodes from the breast. I have seen one single breast cancer patient here without obvious cancer in the axilla, only to find that the tumor was invading directly into her chest. A different patient had cancer in the axilla that had formed an 8-inch wide fungating ulcer. The smell was so fowl she had to wear a mask for herself.
This young woman was sad when I explained the prognosis. Chad has no chemotherapy or radiation. It is simply not an option. She and her loving husband decided to have surgery in an effort to prolong her life. Surgery also reduces the risk of horrible ulcerated tumors people live with here. We removed her left breast and lymph nodes. She stayed in the hospital until the incision was well-healed. I advised her small family that they must treasure every moment they have together now. They were grateful for the diagnosis and advice.
Breast cancer here is discouraging. It is one of the many unpleasant realities we face. I dream of screening programs. I have to remind myself that although a lot of things I do are palliative, we are still relieving suffering.
Photos:
We see horribly advanced breast cancers. The woman in this young family photo had a mastectomy for breast cancer. Additional photos are of other cancers ranging from large tumors, to ulcerations and frank tissue necrosis.
Francais:
Patients viennent avec cancer du sein horrible. La femme ici avec sa jeune famille a subi une mastectomie pour un cancer du sein. Les autres photos sont des grands cancers, ulcérations, et nécroses.
Español:
Pacientes vengan con cánceres terribles de la mama. La mujer aquí con su familia se sometió a una mastectomía para un cáncer de la mama. Las otras fotos son de canceres grandes, ulceraciones y necrosis.
