Dr Melissa Hancock is a clinical and laboratory haematologist in Queensland (Australia). Living with a chronic illness, she regularly practices medicine and is in the unusual (and unenviable) position of being both a patient and a doctor.
Melissa became a doctor because she “wanted to save the world” and address its injustices and inequalities. But, like all doctors, to save the world, she has to prioritise her own health and wellness. She also believes that education is key to better health, and, combining her knowledge and experiences, she regularly writes a blog called ‘The Well Unwell.’
We talked to Melissa to learn more about her and how she approaches wellness, health, and education.
What’s it like working as a doctor and managing your own chronic illness?
I had my first experience as a patient just after my physician exams (so about six years ago). Initially, I developed trigeminal nerve symptoms. Twelve months after that, I was found to have a pituitary adenoma (which is well-controlled now). But in my final year of haematology training, I developed the same nerve pain in my limbs. This is thought to be immune-mediated. I’ve been on weekly IVIg for a bit over a year now. Fortunately, the neuropathy stopped spreading with the IVIg, and my fatigue is much better.
How do you manage to work the long hours of a doctor and your illness?
I kept pushing through for a long time, and my colleagues were all very supportive. In the end, though, I had to consider what was going to be sustainable for a (hopefully) long career. So, I made some difficult decisions and cut back my workload. I now work part-time. By the time I decided to do this, I was a consultant, which was fortunate because I had more flexibility in determining my work hours.
Do you think the illness causes you to connect differently with your patients or have more empathy?
It’s given me a very interesting perspective. I don’t know if you can truly appreciate the difficulties, uncertainty, and anxieties of being a patient until you are one. Even little things, like cannulas, hurt a lot more than you think (not a “little sting”), and the time factor – scheduling all your appointments, treatments, and scans.
Tell us about 'The Well Unwell' website and what you’d like to achieve with this project.
I had been thinking about doing it for quite a while. Particularly before I started treatment, I struggled to find resources – allied health that has an interest in this area, tips and tricks to managing nerve pain daily and living with chronic illness daily. There’s a lot of focus on “wellness” recently, so how do you be “well” if you aren’t actually? This was a concept I really wanted to explore – as someone who manages symptoms daily but also tries to lead a full life.
Having experienced both the patient's and the doctor's side, I am confident I can offer a unique insight that may help others. I’ve also learned things over the last few years, such as managing my symptoms.
I think doctor’s health is also something we (as a profession and individuals) need to be better at. Medicine is a marathon, and it can be mentally, emotionally and physically taxing. But again, how do you manage that when you’re not actually well. I love my job, and it took a lot of hard work to get to where I am, so I want to make sure I can have as long a career as possible.
It’s still early days, but so far, I’ve had pretty positive feedback—both on my topics and on sharing my story.
Could the health and well-being of the industry be improved from the perspectives of both a patient and a doctor?
Unfortunately, time is always going to be pressured in healthcare. Education is very important, and there are a lot of people trying very hard—but there just isn’t the time. Some kind of unified booking system would probably help, too!
As a patient, how would you feel about putting your health in the hands of a doctor who didn't attend to their own?
I find it hard not to be ‘Doctor Mel’ with questions like these and just express concern for my colleagues. There are a lot of long hours, ‘pushing through,’ and feeling guilty about taking time off in medicine. But you have to look after yourself! I think this paradigm is changing, but it’s a process.
Follow her blog here: https://thewellunwell.com
This article was originally published in 2020
