第八話に入る前に｜SAKURAさんより
前回のエッセイでは、EUS（超音波内視鏡）がいかに重要な検査だったかをお話ししました。
その少し前、私はCT検査で思いがけない現実を突きつけられ、大きなショックを受けていました。
「もう治った」と信じていた私の体に、がん再発の兆候があり―しかも、それが「食べ物がうまく通らない」原因かもしれないというのです。
それ以来、私は“食べること”自体が怖くなってしまいました。
今回の第8話では、検査を前に日に日に募っていった食事への不安、そして、それが大切なEUS検査にも影響を及ぼすかもしれないという恐れについて綴っていきます。
第八話
It had been nine years since I had surgery for breast cancer. I had been living without any problems—until unexpected symptoms appeared.
I was devastated when the CT scan revealed tumors, as I had truly believed I was completely cured—right up until that moment.
After that, I became extremely anxious, especially about eating.
I had no symptoms before I vomited, but I started worrying that food might still be sitting in my stomach—just like the konjac pasta that had stayed there for 21 hours.
I began eating only soft, easy-to-digest foods like rice porridge and ate as slowly as possible.
Since it was hard to eat porridge at work, I started taking a longer lunch break and went home to eat.
As I mentioned before, EUS (endoscopic ultrasound) was the most important test.
I was afraid that leftover food in my stomach would make the test impossible to perform.
I asked my doctor to prescribe a liquid diet, and for the three days leading up to the test, I consumed nothing else.
Thanks to my efforts, the test went smoothly, and the doctor confirmed that my stomach was empty. That brought some relief.
Still, the fear of eating lingered with me even after that.
I knew I had to eat to maintain my nutrition, but my weight kept dropping rapidly.
単語リスト
「◆」が付いている語は医学用語です。意味を推測できれば十分で、覚える必要はありません。
「★」が付いている語は、日常生活や他の文脈でもよく使われるので、覚えておくと役立ちます。
| 単語・表現 | 意味 |
|---|---|
| ◆ breast cancer | 乳がん |
| ◆ CT scan | CTスキャン（コンピュータ断層撮影） |
| ◆ tumor | 腫瘍 |
| ◆ endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) | 内視鏡的超音波検査（内視鏡の先に超音波装置がついたもの） |
| ◆ liquid diet | 流動食 |
| ★ be cured | 治る、治癒する |
| ★ be devastated | 打ちひしがれる、衝撃を受ける |
| ★ symptom | 症状 |
| ★ vomit | 吐く、嘔吐する |
| ★ stomach | 胃 |
| ★ digest | 消化する |
| ★ rice porridge | おかゆ |
| ★ nutrition | 栄養 |
| ★ weight drop / lose weight | 体重が減る |
| ★ anxious / be anxious about | 不安になる、心配する |
| ★ smoothly | 滞りなく、順調に |
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