LibraryScenariosWhen language barriers become barriers to life-saving treatment
Scenario

When language barriers become barriers to life-saving treatment

I finally got my mother into a clinical trial after her cancer came back, but they want to exclude her because she only speaks Spanish and I am furious at myself for feeling grateful they are considering it at all.

Dipa
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More people experience this than they realize.

What we've seen

You are trapped between gratitude for any access to care and rage at a system that treats your mother's language as a burden rather than accommodating her basic human dignity.

Ideas that help explain it
Worth thinking about

“Where Are You with Healthcare equity and structural racism in medicine?”

If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.