Palliative care: a patient's perspective.

摘要

Can one person truly empathise with another? It is difficult to know what patients go through when faced with a life-threatening illness. In my case that illness was multiple myeloma—cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow. Initially it caused two vertebrae to collapse and it has also affected my kidneys, so I am now on dialysis. I was asked some time ago to share my experience of cancer with nurses in training. It was hoped that nurses could learn more about what it is like to be a patient and understand what the patient goes through over a period of time. Although I give a chronology of my illness and the various treatments, I think the most valuable lesson for nursing staff is what helped me to cope with the illness.