Today’s mission, to screen the women of Lanquin, a small village two hours outside of Coban, Guatemala. This is my second mission with CCC and it has been so different from Vietnam. Most of us speak Spanish, at various levels, but what some lack in vocabulary, they have made up in enthusiasm. This ability to communicate one on one with the nurses and doctors here in Guatemala not only makes it easy to teach the material, and adds to the comradery. The early start made everyone sleepy on the drive in, but as we got closer you could feel the nurses from Lanquin get excited. Christina started pointing out all the scenic views and crops and was particularly proud to show off the clinic where she worked. The village women were patiently waiting for us when we got there and we set up quickly so we could screen everyone. Where the first two clinics were a little louder with the nurses asking us to confirm their diagnoses, or asking questions about what to do. Today seemed much quieter now that they were confident in their abilities as they said, “positive” or “negative”. The day before graduation has become my favorite, it’s amazing to see the nurses transform into competent providers of cervical cancer screening. After clinic we shared lunch together and the afternoon was once again filled with conversations and laughter.
By: Dr. Erica Oberman