Health & Wellness There was a time when I was determined to work in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. For years the St. Jude’s commercials had pulled at my heart strings and made me want to work passionately to make a difference in the lives of children who were facing cancer. Once into my training, I had the opportunity to spend a month at the Pediatric Oncology clinic in my hometown and was excited to finally see firsthand the ways I would one day be able to use my training. It wasn’t long into my month there that I realized I was not made for that specialty. It takes a special and incredible person to work daily with children and their families facing a diagnosis like cancer. On top of the emotional toll that it can take, the evaluations and treatments are indescribably long and complex. I was blessed to see the many ways their work was rewarding, but also knew that was not where I would one day practice medicine. I did, however, take away a very important lesson from my time in that clinic that I have continued to try to put into practice now. Many times, during that month, I had the pleasure of asking parents about their journey through their child’s diagnosis and treatment of cancer. I was specifically intrigued about how the diagnosis was first made. Terrifyingly, a common theme was that most of the parents noticed some of the symptoms but did not have cancer on their radar. For example, one mother said her daughter’s only symptoms were persistent bruises for several weeks and daily fatigue. However, her symptoms were easily attributed to the fact that she was a teenager who was active in sports and going through puberty. It wasn’t until blood tests were finally done that she was found to have leukemia and was started on therapy. That realization left such an impression on me. I am now bound and determined to never ignore or dismiss the little things. If a parent is concerned about something seemingly small, I never want to be the provider that brushes it off as nothing when really there could be something more serious going on. I write all of this as an encouragement to parents of children to always be a confident advocate for your child. This new year may bring about new challenges, health related or not. Most of the time, parents or a child’s guardian know more
about the child than anyone else around them. If something seems off, don’t hesitate to express your concerns. I cannot tell you how valuable it can be when evaluating your child. In clinic there are many times that I rely on what parents are telling me to help guide what evaluations or tests need to be done. If a parent seems particularly concerned about a specific diagnosis that I may not have considered, I always either educate on why that may not be the diagnosis or order the tests necessary to determine if it is. Parenting already feels like the world’s toughest job on a good day with healthy children. The added stress of sickness or concerning symptoms can often lead parents to question whether they have the time to be evaluated for something that could just be “nothing”. I strongly advise any parents that have thought this way to not ya d kin va lle y magaz i ne.com
Lauren Urrea, PAC
Don’t Ignore the
Little Things WRITER
Lauren Urrea, PA-C
hesitate to take the time to bring your child to be evaluated. We would much rather reassure you that it is “just a virus”, or a common bruise, or something else benign instead of wait, dismiss their symptoms and miss a diagnosis that is more severe. Children often times do not communicate their symptoms well, so this is where parents’ intuition plays a very important role. If you feel that something is Ja nua ry-Feb rua ry 2 0 2 0
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