一步一个脚印

Briefing

You have been called to interpet at a hospital. A Mandarin-speaking woman is talking to an English-speaking kidney specialist. She has asked you to interpret what she says into English in real time to the doctor.

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Simultaneous Interpreting Practice #3 – Kidney Cancer (Mandarin into English)

Transcript and reference translation

我先介绍一下我的身体状况。我当时肚子特别疼，看了5位全科医生之后才得到诊断，说我有癌症。Let me explain my medical situation. My stomach was in a lot of pain. I saw five different GPs before I was diagnosed with cancer.

有一次我在大学上课的时候，肚子疼得晕倒了。我看了校医，他说只是痛经而已，说我小题大做了。One time I was in class at uni and the pain in my stomach was so severe that I fainted. The doctor on campus dismissed it as period cramps and said I was making a big deal out of nothing.

后来我看了另一位医生，他说，你是个女的，你得习惯痛经，习惯这种情况。他就给我输了液，收了我390块钱，就让我回家了。Later I went to see another doctor who told me, “You’re female. You have to get used to period pain.” The doctor gave me an infusion and a $390 bill, and sent me home.

后来，我又去医院，医生跟我说，要是有个女的，因为痛经而到急诊室来看病，医生是不给看的，最多是开个止痛药，就让回去了。Later I went to the hospital. The doctor there said that when women turn up in the emergency department with period pain, they dismiss them. The most they do is send them home with painkillers.

然后八月份的一个晚上，我疼得特别厉害，都尿血了。我当时应该叫救护车的，但是我想起来那个医生跟我说的那句话，感觉我不应该浪费急诊室医生的时间。所以我就忍了，没有叫救护车。Then, one night in August, I was in agony and urinating blood. I should have called an ambulance, but then I thought about what that doctor had told me and figured I didn’t want to waste the doctor’s time at the emergency department. So I put up with it and didn’t call one.

第二天我又去看了全科医生。我跟医生坚持说一定要做个肾脏扫描。最后，扫描的结果出来了，显示我的左肾长了恶性肿瘤。The next day I went back to my GP. I insisted on getting a kidney scan. Finally, the scan revealed I had a malignant tumour in my left kidney.

肿瘤直径大概6厘米。原来我感觉到的肾脏胀痛，是肿瘤增大导致的，当时我的肾脏已经坏死了。The tumour was about 6cm in diameter. As it turned out, the pressure and pain I’d felt in my kidneys was because the mass was growing — necrosis had already started in my kidney.

今年年初我就去做了手术，把左肾切掉了。但是如果肿瘤早点诊断出来的话，我就只需要切掉部分，不需要全切。I underwent surgery early this year to have my left kidney removed. If the tumour had been diagnosed earlier, I would have only lost a section of the organ.

虽然当时看病一个医生一个医生地跑着去看很麻烦，但是结果证明，这么做是很有必要的。虽然诊断出来很吓人，但是能找到病原，算是心里一块石头落了地。自己的身体，自己最了解，而且女生肯定能感觉出来什么是正常的痛经，什么是不正常的疼痛。Although it was a hassle running from one doctor to another, it’s clear that it was necessary considering how things turned out. Even though my cancer diagnosis was scary, it was a relief to find out the cause of my condition. We all know our bodies, and women know the difference between period pain and something more.

我感觉，全科医生虽然很擅长治疗常见的疾病，但是如果病人出现更复杂的症状，一定要和医生沟通，并且要求全科医生给自己做必要的治疗。I feel that general practitioners are usually very good at treating common conditions, but if patients experience more complicated symptoms, they should communicate with their doctor and ask for a specialist to provide the treatment they need.