12 FYi • Profile


CALL FOR COMPASSION


Her experience as a cancer patient inspired Dr Kate Granger to launch a campaign to improve the way doctors talk to their patients. She tells FYi about her quest for change


B


EING informed you have terminal cancer at the age of just 29 could rarely be viewed as a positive experience. But for Dr Kate Granger, now 32, it provided an opportunity to try to change the way doctors care for


and communicate with their patients. Struck by how few doctors took the time to


introduce themselves to her during hospital treatment, last year Kate launched the #hellomynameis campaign which has gone on to become a huge success, with Twitter posts being shared nearly 48 million times across accounts worldwide. Kate first began sharing her experiences in


November 2012 when she set up a blog offering a startlingly honest perspective on “End of life care through the eyes of a doctor and a patient”, writing letters addressed to “Dear Cancer…” and “Dear Chemo…” She has also published two books, The Other Side and The Bright Side, all while continuing her specialty training. Not surprisingly, Kate’s work has attracted


considerable media interest and #hellomynameis has even been backed by the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP who said doctors should remember that “every patient is a person”. The central focus of the campaign is simple: to


remind, encourage and inspire staff to introduce themselves to every patient they meet. But, Kate emphasises, it runs much deeper. “It is about providing truly person-centred care,” she says. “It’s about remembering the person behind the disease or condition.”


No warning shot It was during a holiday in California with her husband that Kate first began to feel unwell with tiredness and back pain. “The doctors found very quickly that I had


acute kidney injury with a creatinine of 600,” Kate explains. “A CT scan showed multiple soft tissue masses and extensive lymphadenopathy throughout my abdomen and pelvis. By this point I had worked out that I had cancer, well before the American doctors, I think.” Kate returned from the US with a provisional


diagnosis of ovarian cancer. After an MRI, an FY brought devastating news. Kate remembers the moment vividly: “A junior doctor I had never met said that I had liver and bone metastases, when I was alone, with no warning shot. There was no checking my baseline understanding and he couldn’t leave the room quick enough. I never saw him again and the nurses were unaware I’d just received my death sentence. “I was left deeply distressed, knowing that I


was going to die.” The diagnosis was later confirmed by her


consultant oncologist but this time the discussion went very differently. “He sat on my bed, held my hand and broke the news gently that this was the worst case scenario and that I had a very aggressive form of sarcoma called a desmoplastic small round cell tumour.


“He then sat in silence, which allowed me to


release my emotions and cry. He was also extremely gentle in his communication of what the next steps entailed.” Kate had reservations about chemotherapy,


but accepted it on the understanding that her consultant would support her if she decided to end her treatment. The stark reality of this “death sentence” was


a far cry from her life just six years before when she qualified with honours from Edinburgh University with ambitions to become a geriatrician. Her unique perspective as a doctor-patient


means Kate can interact fully with her doctors, helping her feel in control of her treatment. It also allowed her to negotiate a few days’ leave from hospital to attend a friend’s wedding in June, when doctors agreed she could administer her own meropenem. But she concedes it is a double-edged sword.


“I have the knowledge to interact with my healthcare team at the same level but that is not always a good thing, as you know what might be coming with a particular procedure or treatment.”


Not just a disease Kate hit upon the idea for the #hellomynameis campaign during a hospital stay when she noticed a lack of introductions from many members of the healthcare team. When staff did take the time to introduce themselves, she found it made a huge difference to how she felt as a patient. It made her determined that doctors should “see me, not just my disease”, and she has delivered talks to healthcare professionals across the country on the importance of communication skills and the other “little things” – holding a hand, taking time to listen – that make patients feel more reassured.


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