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Breast Cancer Session Breaks Language Barrier

Oct 10, 2007 @ 04:02 AM
By ERICA JACOBSON
For the Norwich Bulletin

NORWICH - Nancy Gan learned a new word in English Tuesday.

Mammogram.

There’s no reason for the 28-year-old Chinese immigrant to know the word — conventional medical wisdom recommends women go for the annual test starting at 40.

But she built her medical vocabulary Tuesday along with such other words as lymph.

Gan spent several hours translating between Chinese-speaking students, such as herself and breast health staff at a clinic at Norwich Adult Education. She also, by default, helped convey the importance of a test that is mostly unknown, and can be unaffordable, in China.

“Not all people will do that in China,” Gan said. “Most people, they just feel I don’t have to do that. I don’t have a problem.”

Vickie Han is a community health director with the Uncas Health District, the coordinator of Tuesday’s clinic. She said language and culture can combine to frighten many new arrivals, men and women, away from seeking the health care they need.

“It’s a problem on top of a problem,” Han said. “Not only the language barrier, but the concepts are completely different.”

In addition, she said many people who have insurance may not understand completely how it works.

Tze King Wong came into the clinic holding several sheets of breast health information translated into Chinese. With Gan’s help, the 57-year-old Norwich woman filled out an information form that asked about whether she had had a mammogram before. Wong said no and Han asked about the last time the woman, who has lived in the United States for five years, had seen a doctor.

“No doctor,” Wong said. “Hong Kong.”

“Hong Kong?” Han asked. “That’s a long way. You want a doctor here? You need one?”

Mobile hospital van
Han then went through a chart explaining breast cancer, the exam Wong would undergo in the mobile van from The William W. Backus Hospital parked just outside the school, as well as tumor sizes. Wong turned to Gan, spoke and then waited for the woman to translate her message to Han.

“She said she want to find doctor here,” Gan said. “But she doesn’t speak English and she doesn’t have a car.”

That’s not an uncommon situation, Han said, adding she had a stack of information forms with immigrant women who travel outside the area to doctors.

“They go back to Chinatown, wherever their safety net is,” she said. “It’s too bad we can’t solve that problem somewhere, solve that problem right here.”

Although Gan repeatedly insisted her English was hardly good enough to interpret much beyond the restaurant where she works at Foxwoods, she acknowledged acting as a translator was important.

“I can help people,” she said, “let them feel comfortable.”

Reach Erica Jacobson at 425-4241 or ejacobs@norwichbulletin.com

ON THE WEB The Uncas Health District Tuesday handed out breast self-exam cards in Arabic, Chinese, English, Russian and Vietnamese. To find and print cards in other languages, visit: cms.komen.org/komen/AboutBreastCancer/Resources/DownloadBSECards?ssSourceNodeId=412&ssSourceSiteId=Komen