Meet Hospice Ethiopia Sr. Nurse, Kalkidan, who lead the palliative care department at Hospice Ethiopia. She brings both professional and compassionate skill to each patient visit. On this day, Kalkidan visited Fetla is 50 years old and is married, living with her husband and their 2 children. As an Orthodox Christian, she feels supported by her religious faith.
She was recently referred to the Black Lion Hospital with a likely cancerous breast lump and the hospital made a diagnosis of breast cancer with a cerebral metastasis (the cancer had spread to her brain). The hospital had offered to do a fine needle biopsy (presumably of the breast lump) but no hospital records or letters were available to see. Fetla had received 5 doses of radiotherapy to her head.
Nurse Kalkidan had established that Fetla had been made aware she had cancer, but not that the disease had spread to her head. She spent time talking with her providing psychological support and encouragement.
