Dr. Erica Oberman:
As an assistant professor I have many opportunities to teach. It is the reason I took a job at an academic hospital and it is one of the reasons I enjoy my job on a daily basis. When given the opportunity to travel and teach some of my colleagues in Vietnam as a volunteer for Cure Cervical Cancer, I jumped at the chance. Now here, in the thick of the program, I couldn’t be happier to be a part of this experience.
Yesterday we launched the program with a morning educational session at the Reproductive Health Center in Quang Ninh. By the afternoon we were showing our counterparts, both doctors and nurses from the local health care clinics in the surrounding areas, how to screen and treat for pre-malignant cervical disease. I rarely get the opportunity to teach a skill in a repetitive fashion at home, but word on the street here in Vietnam has moved quickly and women were lining up to get screened at the clinic. We ended up seeing a record 96 patients in our first day! The doctors and nurses, clearly nervous about learning a new skill at the beginning of the day, were quickly easing into the screening process. When we first began seeing patients, they would softly say, “negative” or “positive” at the end of their exams and by 3PM they were confidently explaining to me their diagnosis. Their hands, at first slightly shaky while holding the cryotherapy guns, were working the equipment with ease by the afternoon. By day two of our mission we screened 120 patients, and at this point, I am feeling very confident that the trainees will be able to continue performing and teaching this process at their local clinics. Tomorrow we will put their skills to the test as we travel out to the two rural villages and set up two new clinics. Stay tuned!
Authored by Dr. Erica Oberman, UCLA GYN MD
Dr. Rita Oregon:
We are an hour from reaching LAX and I have been reflecting on the amazing trip that I have just been so privileged to be a part of. This trip could not have come at a better time in my life, and I was ready. As we begin our descent and I review my pictures, relive each long, wonderful day, and feel my heart absolutely full – feeling that what we accomplished was something real and important – I am truly humbled. Even though I am a newbie to the CCC family, it was easy to align myself with our goal, as it was one I had already dedicated myself to long before: the care of women. It was nothing but fate that landed me here and I acknowledge that out loud and silently every day. To affect women’s lives and the lives of those around them is an incredible thing to be a part of. Our utter enthusiasm and dedication to to the task, no matter what the challenge was, brought each day to a wonderful and satisfying close.
My last day at the clinic in the rural farming village of Cam Pha (the Dang Clinic) was a sad one, as we needed to pack up and leave in a bit of a hurry, amidst the waves, the smiles, the “cam on” (thank yous) and “tam biêt” (good byes). The amazing thing was that deep down, I knew these local Vietnamese women would be fine. The healthcare providers and staff had mastered the “See and Treat” procedure, and they were truly excited about it. The work of CCC – the mission to make an impact on a sadly preventable disease that devastates the lives of so many families without the access to care – will continue on in these clinics for years to come. That was an awesome, awesome realization.
With so much emotion, I end with a rallying “Go Team CCC Vietnam!!”
Authored by: Dr. Rita Oregon, UCLA GYN MD