ほっし校長 Persistent Anxiety of Childhood Cancer Survivors
When I was in the third grade of elementary school, I developed osteosarcoma at the base of my right foot.
In the initial surgery plan, amputation of the right leg was also considered, and at the time of cancer notification before surgery, I also experienced explanation of amputation of the right leg and confirmation of approval of amputation.
I lost my word to the announcement, which was extremely heavy for me, who was only 10 years old.
I was born in this world, and in just 10 years I have to cut off a part of my body to live.
Surgery was my first experience. Just imagining carving out my own body made me very anxious. During the operation, he was explained that he was anesthetized and was asleep, so he was okay, but even if he was asleep, he felt like he would wake up immediately if he touched his body or felt pain.
At the age of 10, I couldn’t believe the effect of anesthesia to the end.
I once told the nurse about that anxiety, but even then, he just said, “It’s okay.”
One day, a while later, my doctor’s doctor came to visit my hospital room.
I’m sure the teacher had heard from the nurse. He explained to me about anesthesia during surgery. It was very easy to understand and explained slowly, but I felt that my anxiety about the surgery gradually diminished.
