After having her concerns dismissed by her doctor, a woman diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma partnered with the lymphoma to spread the word about unique challenges facing patients.
Paula Ngon, a 28-year-old public relations professional with Estée Lauder in New York, understands the value of good communication. After all, it's her job to share information about her employer's products with the world. Recently, she needed to tap her career training for another purpose: to capture the attention of a heedless oncologist.
"I knew in my body that something was wrong," Ms. Ngon recalled. When the oncologist continued to downplay her concerns, she and a fellow communications specialist sat down together in the hospital lobby to draft an email to her physician."We were trying to articulate the urgency in an email that expresses that I'm not being dramatic. We had to do it in a way that didn't insult his intelligence: 'Respectfully, you're the doctor, but I know something is wrong.
This and other negative experiences during her medical saga inspired Ms. Ngon to partner with the Lymphoma Research Foundation in order to spread the word about unique challenges facing patients like her: people of color. Ms. Ngon said her experiences and her awareness about poorer outcomes in medicine for African Americans — such as for Black women during pregnancy — affect how she interacts with clinicians."I automatically assume a barrier between me and my doctors, and it's their responsibility to dismantle it."
Ethnic and gender diversity remains an immense challenge in the hematology/oncology field. According to the She also found it difficult to find fellow patients who shared her unique challenges."I remember when I was diagnosed, I was looking through the support groups on Facebook, trying to find someone Black to ask about whether braiding my hair might stop it from falling out."
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