VOA标准英语2013--剧院帮助医生护士同情乳癌患者

 

Theater Helps Doctors, Nurses Empathize with Breast Cancer Patients 剧院帮助医生护士同情乳癌患者

Theater has been used to help people learn about everything from AIDS to mental health issues.  Now a there's a play to help doctors and nurses understand their patients with breast cancer.  

It's the news no woman ever wants to hear:     

“You have invasive breast cancer.”

While this is a play, the news is often real and devastating¹ for many women. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide.

Zulima Palacio is a breast cancer patient in the U.S.  She recalls the shock when her doctor gave her the results of her biopsy.

"The first time she told me, I was numb², completely like, Huh? Like, I don’t get it. Like ‘not me.’ This is something that happens to other people, not me," she said.

Palacio has the support of her husband and friends, compassionate³ nurses and doctors she trusts. But not all breast cancer patients have that.

The University of Missouri is trying to help with a play called Breast Cancer Dialogues.

One goal is to help medical students, doctors and nurses to be more responsive to their patients' needs.

The dialogues are from real life experiences. Seeing the sometimes harsh reality does make a difference says Dr. James Campbell.

“When students are first starting out as future physicians, they learn that it's important to establish a relationship and rapport⁴ with their patient and to be able to communicate effectively," he said.

Just as important as the script is the fact that the audience can rewrite it to allow a more caring interaction between patient and doctor. Rachel Baur coordinates⁵ the productions.

“That’s one of the things we do with interactive⁶ theatre, when they [the audience] see something they don’t like, they yell ‘stop!’ And we stop the scene, and then they can intervene, and that is where we get the most feedback from audiences of saying ‘no, that can’t happen. I won’t let this happen to this patient," she said.

“Your chances of survival are much better than 20 years  ago. Back then you would have been a goner," said an actor in the play.

What the doctor could have said in a better way is that 70 percent of women who get breast cancer can be cured, provided they get early treatment. The World Health Organization says, in order to prevent deaths, men and women who notice some difference in their breasts need to get medical attention without delay.

Watch VOA's Carol Pearson's upcoming reports on breast cancer patient Zulima Palacio. The reports follow Palacio's battle with breast cancer and her final outcome.

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

3 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

4 rapport   

n.和睦，意见一致

参考例句：

• She has an excellent rapport with her staff.她跟她职员的关系非常融洽。
• We developed a high degree of trust and a considerable personal rapport.我们发展了高度的互相信任和不错的私人融洽关系。

5 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。