I sat down with the gynaecology consultant to discuss a patient who underwent post-operative surgery. We introduced ourselves to the patient and her mother. We ask the patient to confirm her name and date of birth to ensure she is the right patient. The consultants went over the procedure and explained that the operation they had performed on her fibroid revealed that it was cancer rather than a fibroid. Hence, the consultant informed her that she needed other surgery to remove her ovaries because the pathology test had confirmed that the patient had cancer and needed to be removed, so she would have surgery on August 30th and begin chemotherapy. The patient burst into tears as the doctor told her the patient’s shocking news. She had arrived with her mother, so it was a huge surprise for both of them, and the room was filled with emotion. As a student nurse, I went to stand between the patient and her mother, holding both hands, and encouraging them that everything would be ok, but unfortunately, things turned out differently. The patient’s mother is a diabetes patient, and when she heard that her daughter had cancer, she felt shocked and shaken, so I had to take her to a side room to look after her blood sugar level. The mother has hypoglycemia and tachycardia, so I offer the woman a biscuit to boost her blood sugar level. The lady refuses to take the biscuit, but I encourage her to take the biscuit or the candy. I will reflect on the patient’s need to bring her mother to the clinic while she knows that her mother is a diabetes patient and anything can happen there with that new cancer. I learnt that patients need support from family members but not their mums because if caution is not taken, patients will lose their mum from this shocking new cancer of the cervix.

Furthermore, the patient calmed down a bit and now remembers that she came to the clinic with her sick mother, and her mother has very high blood sugar. I was there to look after her mom while the doctor was meeting with the patient, and I did well to take care of the mother and encouraged her that her daughter would be okay because she was in safe hands and they were doing their best for her daughter’s treatment.