tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post498103482183378048..comments2023-09-23T11:16:00.352+02:00Comments on The Franco-American Flophouse has moved: A Day at the Cancer ClinicVictoria FERAUGEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-49306617984601996272013-10-22T05:05:29.499+02:002013-10-22T05:05:29.499+02:00Christopher,
After talking to a friend of mine wh...Christopher,<br /><br />After talking to a friend of mine who works at a big prestigious US hospital there are a couple of comments I will make. From the standpoint of a lot of high end hospitals both in Canada and the US it doesn't really matter how many med school graduates there are in any given year as they are only interested in hiring the "best of the best." To the extent they wish to make the staff bigger they will tend to hire more nurses and physician assistants although here too they only want the "best of the best." As a general rule when the big prestigious hospitals like Sunnybrook, Brigham and Women's, or Mass General wish to expand they tend to go into very specialized areas like high risk pregnancies, severe third degree burns, or Laryngeal Surgery to name a few. The outer edge of medicine basically.<br /><br />In terms of working hours. The hours at someplace like Mass General or Sunnybrook are far far worse than that of a rural general practioner. Patients in areas like severe burns or high risk pregnancies need 24 by 7 care plus for a lot of strange reasons complex surgeries such as open heart are scheduled in the middle of the night often. There are some exceptions in some cutting edge areas such as Laryngeal Surgery to be sure but it tends to be the exception not the rule. Additionally hospitals like Sunnybrook and Brigham's are Level One trauma centers are receive horribly managled patients at all hours of the day and night often by helicopter.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03894651289037073128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-63099428591617406192013-10-21T17:26:00.927+02:002013-10-21T17:26:00.927+02:00Dear Victoria,
I wished you weren't alone on ...Dear Victoria,<br /><br />I wished you weren't alone on that day and that your loved ones could have come with you.<br /><br />I wish to comment on a couple points.<br /><br />- Length of time to get an appointment.<br /><br />Most foreign people attribute some of the lengthy times to get an appointment to the single payer system and the fact that everyone is insured. That is mostly wrong.<br />Part of the blame is on<br />a) the government / educational system, for limiting the number of practitioners that graduate each year. By design, only a limited number of people can graduate and this created the shortage.<br /><br />b) limited number of doctors in some more rural areas of France.<br />Doctors like everyone else want to benefit for the 35 hour week. This is not possible to do in rural areas. The ones that graduate would rather work in bigger cities, with more doctors, requiring them to work less hours.<br />The shortage affects different parts differently.<br /><br />I think that if they made changes to the educational system, and somehow incented doctors to work in more rural areas, this would improve the shortage.<br /><br /><br />- You said "At that moment I did not feel like a "fortunate" migrant. I cursed my own culture which is not one that places a lot of value on solidarity at home or abroad. One that is radically individualistic and places a premium on independence and not needing or asking for help from others."<br /><br />I don't know if I agree with that. From what I see in the US, people are very generous in the form of fundraising and people affected by diseases usually have nice support groups of family and friends. Some companies also encourage giving (time and money) as a support to local communities.<br />That is nice. But I don't know if I really like the system. God forbid I would ever be so sick that this would require medical care that I could not afford. I would be to proud to ask for strangers money to pay for it. I don't see these medical fundraising any differently than the guy that begs for money at a street light. I would not do it.Christophenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-17811852207754221132013-10-21T15:53:48.362+02:002013-10-21T15:53:48.362+02:00Victoria, you are one of the most courageous peopl...Victoria, you are one of the most courageous people I've had the honour of meeting. The fact that you haven't withdrawn from the world as a result of what you've been faced with is extremely admirable. What an inspiration you are for anyone who is faced with a life threatening condition. You leave a large wake and I look forward to reading about your breast reconstruction journey should you choose to share.bubblebustinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01789474207408205280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-4259126015957725772013-10-21T10:32:20.304+02:002013-10-21T10:32:20.304+02:00@P. Moore. You're right. I had lunch with my ...@P. Moore. You're right. I had lunch with my friend JJ the other day and he asked about life in general and I said, well, having cancer is not something I would wish on anyone and it's definitely not a GOOD thing. Nonetheless, many good things have come with the bad. One of those is surely a complete rearrangement of priorities. <br /><br />@Rowan and Shirl, How are you folks doing? New house? Learning to ask for help, accepting one's limitations, realizing that one is imperfect and makes mistakes - these are things I got from folks like YOU. Thank you.<br /><br />@Donna, Pax.<br /><br />@Rosy, Yesterday my neighbor who hails from Brittany brought me crepes. So today I will make another cake and bring it over to her. Love you back and I hope all is well with you.<br /><br />@Julia, My dear dear sister. Sending many healing vibes and prayers your way. I know what you mean both about the goodness of people and about missing YOUR breasts. Implants won't be the same. But I do like the idea of having something (I lost everything including nipples). Please take care and let me know how you're doing.<br /><br />@Time, Answer in today's post. :-)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-10213520053684520622013-10-21T06:30:59.090+02:002013-10-21T06:30:59.090+02:00Not to be too nosy I am curious as to what the jus...Not to be too nosy I am curious as to what the justification for the wait listing is? All of the surgeons too busy for all the next year?Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03894651289037073128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-82221169190583190112013-10-21T03:37:59.144+02:002013-10-21T03:37:59.144+02:00I just had a double, nipple-sparing mastectomy las...I just had a double, nipple-sparing mastectomy last Wednesday. Your blog came at a good time, for me.<br /><br />One thing for which I am very deeply grateful, in all of this cancer journey, is the support of others. I honestly did not know humanity was so good before this. <br /><br />I am with you in my thoughts, sister.<br /><br />And reconstruction... yes, this is quite a tough decision. I have decided to do no reconstruction at all. Some of this was based on my realization that I was going to miss MY breasts, that I wanted MY breasts, and no one else's idea of breasts would do the trick. <br /><br />Also, according to the Dana Farber statistics, which tend to be pretty darned good, about half of all women who have reconstruction have complications, and the physical strain of the natural, from the body style of reconstruction often takes a lot out of women-more than literally.<br /><br />Good luck with whatever options work out the best for you!Julia Gandrud (aka JuliaLikesFrogs)https://www.blogger.com/profile/09599474074805067799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-90810893235180999392013-10-20T20:30:17.853+02:002013-10-20T20:30:17.853+02:00It's as if we'd been there with you. I'...It's as if we'd been there with you. I'm sure nobody who hasn't has the experience would want to trade places with you. It must be disappointing about that long wait for reconstruction. But your radiating light will do what no surgery can replace. Love you ! P.S. I also enjoyed the Betty Crocker golden cake..Rosynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-82055168991546692992013-10-20T06:45:51.756+02:002013-10-20T06:45:51.756+02:00Bless you.Bless you.Donnanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-34116890529610345212013-10-20T05:22:28.941+02:002013-10-20T05:22:28.941+02:00Hey, Victoria. I haven't posted many comments...Hey, Victoria. I haven't posted many comments lately, but I have been reading every post you have written for years now. I still remember when we met in Paris, well, I guess a year and a half ago now. I am so impressed with the depth of your posts, the degree to which you share, and the breadth of your subjects. Here, in this one, you really told it true. Thanks so much for sharing. We can all use the encouragement to ask for help. We are all here for you, at least virtually.<br />Love<br />Rowan and ShirlShirl and Rowanhttp://www.untethered.usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-62620994236029270922013-10-20T00:44:28.468+02:002013-10-20T00:44:28.468+02:00Victoria, That was quite a day, but despite the st...Victoria, That was quite a day, but despite the struggle there is certainly something positive to take away. That is, I bet you learned a fair bit during that day and it will stick in your mind for a long time. Obviously by the end of the day you recognized how lucky you are despite all these trials. Strange how these things put life into perspective and make you forget the trivial annoyances.P. Moorenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-53356233449088203572013-10-19T18:59:08.499+02:002013-10-19T18:59:08.499+02:00This is definitely a situation where feelings are...This is definitely a situation where feelings aren't facts. <br /><br />I should not have gone by myself. I should have asked for help. I'm in recovery (not 100%). I knew this and sailed blithely off without taking into account my limitations (and boy does it irritate me to have limitations). I was exhausted by the end of the day and had the intellectual ability of a gnat. I can still feel it today - just not feeling like doing much except for cooking comfort food: a Betty Crocker golden cake with shiny chocolate frosting. My spouse is making dinner.<br /><br />@Joy, I love you too, Auntie Joy, and I miss you a lot.<br />Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-57050622227842157772013-10-19T17:47:11.198+02:002013-10-19T17:47:11.198+02:00You are never alone, Victoria, you are in my praye...You are never alone, Victoria, you are in my prayers every day. I love youJoynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-24614140334642182362013-10-19T14:36:26.274+02:002013-10-19T14:36:26.274+02:00I wish I could have been with you to hold your han...I wish I could have been with you to hold your hand. I don't know if you could feel it, but I thought about you often yesterday.<br /><br />I checked here first thing this morning to see if you had posted anything about yesterday. Nothing.<br /><br />I was glad to see an update when I just checked again. I hope you are able to recharge your body and spirit now that you are back home with your husband and garden.Blazehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12871285356307431578noreply@blogger.com