Elephants and Tea - One Herd - 31

Our Voices
" Experiences like this are why I seek out and
choose Black healthcare providers when
possible. Experiences like this are why I'm
immediately relieved and feel an extra sense of
security when I am at an appointment and see
a Black medical professional walk in the room. "
phone so I was surprised to hear her voice
given the unknown number that showed up
on the caller ID. Dr. G began by excusing
the sounds of her children playing in the
background, because she was on vacation,
but was calling to check in about my case. I
expressed my concerns about the situation
with Dr. L's office, explaining how I had
somewhat received a diagnosis but was
still waiting on official results and for a
referral to an oncologist. Immediately, she
was concerned and stressed the importance
of getting the ball rolling, then proceeded
to check if my final results were in. Within
a few minutes, she was able to give me
the results of my biopsy, which confirmed
Hodgkin lymphoma, and proceeded to
send the final report to my patient portal
so I could view it on my end. She also
made the referral to an oncologist, and I
was contacted to schedule an appointment
the following day. After speaking with Dr.
G, it felt like a weight had been lifted off
my shoulder and I felt an immediate relief
from the anxiety I was experiencing for the
past several days. She acted with a sense of
urgency that made me feel like I was more
than a number-I was a priority. The fact
that she made it a priority to call me while
on vacation with her family meant the
world to me and showed me that she truly
cared. I felt seen and heard. She went the
extra mile for me, listened to my concerns,
and acted upon them.
My frustration with Dr. L grew after
speaking with Dr. G. As it turned out,
the final results had come back in a few
days like Dr. L said they would, but no
arrangements were made for someone to
communicate the results with me and make
the necessary referrals in Dr. L's absence.
Given the diagnosis I was facing, I didn't
understand this. During the process of
getting diagnosed, I had already discovered
a new swollen lymph node, which I had
informed Dr. L about, so what I had was
progressing and I needed to get treatment
sooner rather than later. Dr. L ended up
calling me toward the end of the first week
in January-about two weeks after she initially
called me with my results. I told her
that my PCP already made the necessary
referrals and that was basically the end of
our conversation. There was no apology
from her end, nor any attempt to explain
why I was not contacted about my results
or why a referral was not made promptly as
I had been told. I could have, and probably
should have, expressed my frustrations to
Dr. L, but I didn't for two reasons. The first
is that I struggle with social anxiety, and
even the slightest degree of confrontation
makes me uncomfortable. The second is
that I just didn't have the energy to have
that conversation in the moment. At the
end of the day, I had what I needed and
only wanted to focus on processing this
new diagnosis.
Unfortunately, what I feared would happen
when going through this process did
happen. Experiences like this are why I
seek out and choose Black healthcare providers
when possible. Experiences like this
are why I'm immediately relieved and feel
an extra sense of security when I am at an
appointment and see a Black medical professional
walk in the room. While I know
that I can have a bad experience as a patient
with anyone, I can't help but fear that
something bad will happen at the hands of
a White medical professional. After all, past
experiences shape future thoughts, feelings,
and actions. Luckily, my experience didn't
have dire consequences, but unfortunately
that is not the case for many Black Americans.
One day, I hope that, in addition to
the many stressors we face as minorities,
negative experiences in medical settings
will no longer be one of them. l
ELEPHANTSANDTEA.ORG
ONE HERD ISSUE 2025
31
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Elephants and Tea - One Herd

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