Reflection Assignment: Cancer Patient Care in Healthcare

This report presents a reflective analysis of cancer patient care from a healthcare professional's perspective, utilizing the 5 R's of reflection: Reporting, Responding, Relating, Reasoning, and Reconstructing. The author reflects on a cancer survivor's story to understand patient experiences, emotional responses, and the importance of therapeutic relationships. The report explores the impact of hope, courage, and support on patient outcomes, emphasizing the need for effective communication and health literacy. Through this reflection, the author aims to modify their care process, improve their interactions with patients, and foster a more positive and hopeful environment to enhance patient care. The analysis draws upon the insights gained from the survivor's blog and relevant academic literature to provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in cancer patient care.

Running head: REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT
REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT
Reflection is a critical process that helps the any individual to retrospect upon their own
actions and then with proper analysis of them understand the changes or modifications which
would be required to make the process effective and influencing (Lamiani, Borghi & Argentero,
2017). While undergoing critical treatments different people go through different mental and
physical conditions and this difference in experience determines their healthcare struggles, their
meaning and complications of illness (Viglund et al., 2017). Recently I gone through few of
such reflective stories by cancer survivor patients in the website Medium.com (2017), and while
going through it, came to know about Holly Sidell, who was diagnosed with triple negative stage
2 breast cancer. In this paper, I will be using the 5 R’s of reflective model to reflect upon the way
this survival story and personal reflection of Holly helped me to understand the different
perspectives of health and healthcare professionals.
Reporting
As mentioned by Viglund et al. (2017), every person perceive their illness differently
and depending upon their mindset of illness, their severity of disease are determined. Holly
Sidell knew about her cancer in 2016 and at that time, she had triple negative stage 2 breast
cancer (Medium.com, 2017). After diagnosis of her breast cancer, she was found to be positive
with BRCA gene mutation due to which. Her chances of being affected with both breast and
ovarian cancer became higher (Medium.com, 2017). Holly mentioned in her blog that after
understand the severity of her condition, she did not share the news with her friends and family
personally as she wanted to stay strong while going through the treatment procedure
(Medium.com, 2017). She mentioned that practicality and strength became her courage to fight
the cancer and through her inner strength and support of her fiancé, she was able to overcome the
critical phases of her cancer treatment (Medium.com, 2017). Through her description about

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interventions, pain and the way she fought with the cancer conditions, helped me to understand
the perspective of patient while going through the treatment we provide them (Medium.com,
2017). Further, I felt this encounter with Holly’s survival story was important for me as it helped
me to change my perspective in multiple dimensions.
Responding
All the strength and courage that Holly showed while going through her chemo sections,
while watching her friends sobbing and breaking in front of her, while watching her broken
family members while receiving chemo were completely similar to what I had observed in
majority of the cancer patients. Nierop‐van Baalen et al. (2016) also mentioned that emotional
strength and courage are primary aspects that helps patients to go through critical health
conditions. I was also to understand that despite her critical conditions, Holly was emotionally
strong and in this process her fiancé and her friends played an important role. This experience
helped me to observe the importance of strength, hope and support in care process.
Relating
As per McCormack et al. (2017), every patient has their own perception of illness,
however everyone is surrounded by hopelessness, lack of positivity and negative speculations
about their own health while suffering from critical health conditions. Further, if this disease
condition is critical, then negativity prevails. However, this blog of Holly helped me to
understand that with support and positivity, patients could be provided with courage so that they
could fight with their illness. While providing care to my patients, I developed effective
communication with them, however I was unaware of the fact that hope and courage could

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provide strength to the patient to survive through critical conditions. Hence, this blog was
effective for me, to develop therapeutic relationship with my patients.
Reasoning
I would focus upon therapeutic relationship while providing care to critically ill patients
as majority of the patients receiving critical interventions are unaware of the importance and
ability of it. Hence, with therapeutic communication, I would be able to increase their health
literacy so that they could be calm and courageous while receiving critical care. It was also
observed for Holly, as she was educated about her chemo sessions, and hence she was able to
develop trust upon the care system.
Reconstructing
With detailed analysis and retrospection upon the healthcare blog of Holly Sidell, I was
able to modify or rectify my care process and implement several modifications. In future, while
providing care to my patients, I would try to stay positive and hopeful so that I could increase
their hope and make them curios for their care process. Further, it would help my patients to
develop knowledge about the professional practice.

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References
Lamiani, G., Borghi, L., & Argentero, P. (2017). When healthcare professionals cannot do the
right thing: A systematic review of moral distress and its correlates. Journal of health
psychology, 22(1), 51-67.
McCormack, B., Borg, M., Cardiff, S., Dewing, J., Jacobs, G., Titchen, A., ... & Wilson, V.
(2017). A Kaleidoscope of Hope: Exploring Experiences of Hope Among Service Users
and Informal Carers in Health Care Contexts. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 35(3), 247-
258.
Medium.com. (2017). Reflections On My Year As A Cancer Patient. Retrieved 12 August 2019,
from https://medium.com/so-apparently-i-had-breast-cancer/reflections-on-my-year-as-a-
cancer-patient-a8123e9f149b
Nierop‐van Baalen, C., Grypdonck, M., Van Hecke, A., & Verhaeghe, S. (2016). Hope dies
last… A qualitative study into the meaning of hope for people with cancer in the
palliative phase. European journal of cancer care, 25(4), 570-579.
Viglund, K., Jonsén, E., Lundman, B., Nygren, B., & Strandberg, G. (2017). Sources and
expressions of inner strength among old people who have experienced a crisis in life
associated with a disease. Nordic Journal of Nursing Research, 37(1), 20-26.

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Link to other two blogs collected for this paper:
Colon Cancer Coalition. (2019). Survivor Story: Mike Dellosso | Colon Cancer Coalition.
Retrieved 12 August 2019, from https://coloncancercoalition.org/2014/04/02/survivor-
story-mike-dellosso/
Survivedat.org. (2019). Reflections By A Cancer Survivor. Retrieved 12 August 2019, from
https://survivedat.org/blog/reflections-by-a-cancer-survivor