In December 2013, my grandmother was diagnosed with throat cancer for the third time. In the previous two instances doctors choose to treat her with radiation and non-invasive surgery. This time the cancer had progressed further down her throat and would require major surgery. In preparing for surgery she met with two surgeons, the first would complete the procedure to remove the cancer, and the second would complete the reconstructive surgery. Both surgeries would be completed on the same day. Two surgeons were needed because the procedure was quite involved and required to cut her jaw bone in half. Due to the American practice of biomedicine my grandmother was given proper care. Instead of looking at her as a population statistic the doctors consulted with her to discuss her medical history, family health, and previous cancer occurrences. Upon consultation my grandma revealed her husband was a cigarette smoker, which was likely the cause of the cancer. Based on this information, the doctors were able to properly care for her.
In addition to the two surgeons, a hematologist was consulted based on her family’s history of blood clots. American biomedicine positively affected my grandma’s post-surgery recovery because unlike the epidemiological theory, which looks at the statistics surrounding a population rather than an individual, my grandmother’s healing process was treated uniquely. The hematologist gathered information based on my grandmother’s family tree and established a post-surgery plan to minimize the threat of blood clots.
During the reconstructive part of the surgery, the surgeon noticed that a portion of the tissues in my grandmother’s throat were not receiving the proper blood flow to ensure healthy healing. Based on the history of blood clots in the family, the surgeon tried a unique technique to establish blood flow to the healing tissues rather than utilizing a standard procedure. The choice to use this technique resulted in a failure to maintain blood flow to the healing tissues. After several days of heavy antibiotics, the decision was made to conduct a second surgery with the goal of reestablishing blood flow to the infected tissues. Even though, the surgeon chose a procedure unique to my grandma there were still complications. Biomedicine is a great medical method, but in this case my grandma was harmed by the doctor’s unique procedure.
The second surgery to treat the infected tissue lasted over 18 hours and required the surgeons to reopen her jaw bone. Also, he took a muscle from her shoulder and used it to reestablish blood flow to the infected tissues as well as remove a portion of her esophagus, attach a portion of her tongue to her cheek, and install a trachea tube. The aftermath of the second surgery included an extended hospital visit and a two month stay in a rehabilitation center. She has difficulty speaking, which resulted in a tough decision for her to give up her seat on city council. Finally, and most importantly, the second surgery resulted in her not being able to eat or drink, which requires her to get her nourishment through a feeding tube. However, after all the pain and healing, my grandmother has been cancer free for five years. She has been an inspiration to me to never give up and no matter what life throws her way she will tackle it with a smile on her face.
Hi Sydney, thank you for sharing your grandmother’s story with us.
I am so glad to hear the American biomedicine system was able to save your grandmother and enable her to have another chance of life when faced with such a difficult medical predicament. It is truly incredible what medicine and surgery can do.
With that being said, I assume that these procedures were incredibly expensive as well as continued care for your grandmother. I wonder how the American biomedicine system fails us (as Americans) by charging individuals so much for vital medical treatment. While I know that this often has to do with the health insurance industry, it is all a part of the same system, as are big pharmaceutical companies. Most Americans struggle with the pressure of medical bills, I know from similar experience with my grandfather. When I was in middle school my grandfather started to experience symptoms that he had been able to ignore for years. My grandfather was afraid to go to the doctor because he knew there was something terribly wrong but he also knew how expensive it would be so it so he put it off. He put it off for too long that by the time he went to seek medical help he had stage four lung cancer with a bad prognosis and died a few months later. I am very happy that this is not what happened to your grandmother, but wonder if these types of illnesses could be better looked after if Americans did not fear the bills that come with.
I’m so glad that your grandma was able to recover from throat cancer and that her surgeries were successful. Cancer is a scary thing, and it’s great that she can still smile after all of that! Biomedicine is a good system and it does save lives, but there are limitations and downsides to it as we will continue to go through the semester. It’s important to keep in mind that there are positives and negatives with every system, and to look at those systems critically.