Cytotechnologists deal mainly with cancer. Their role in detecting cancer
is serious and the results of an analysis can be tragic. But all is not bad
news for cytotechnologists. Time and time again, they virtually prevent the
disease.
Pauline Atkinson is a cytotechnologist and a clinical instructor. "One
thing that we're dealing with is Pap smears, which are the smears where
we're looking for the precursors to cancer of the cervix. That's
a very rewarding job," says Atkinson.
Pap smears play a key role in preventing cervical cancer. When a cytotechnologist
detects malignant cells in the sample, immediate treatment saves the patient
from developing full-blown cancer.
"A lot of the smears that we look at are normal. But if we're able
to pick up a dysphasia, which is in a very early stage, the patient can have
minimal treatment and be relieved of the progression to a more serious state.
So that's one of the very important aspects of the job that we do.
"I think it's making a big contribution....Because of cytotechnology,
the death rate of cancer of the cervix has been [significantly] reduced in
the last 26 years," says Atkinson.
Atkinson has little contact with the people behind the glass slides that
she studies. She realizes, however, that the results of her work can be terrifying.
The patient is never quite out of her mind.
"I would hope that their doctors have prepared them that [cancer] is a
possibility. We don't really know what the physicians have told them
previous to coming in. Maybe it's because of what I know, but if I were
going to have a procedure like that I would probably assume the worst," she
says.
Overall, says Atkinson, cytotechnology is very gratifying. She has large
responsibilities, but enjoys equally great rewards. "At the end of the day,
hopefully you've done something to alleviate someone else's problems,"
she says.
A particular moment stands out for Atkinson: "A child was having a kidney
aspiration and they were expecting a tumor. We were actually able, by the
cytology [the study of cells], to diagnose an organism within the kidney that
was causing the disruption. This patient was actually able to be treated without
surgery and is doing fine," she says.
Cytotechnologists receive little recognition for their role in preventing
disease. General consensus in the lab is that their salaries and public profile
don't reflect their responsibility. Michael Facik, chief cytotechnologist
at the University of Michigan and a supervisor at Strong Memorial Hospital,
says his staff is painfully aware of this.
"We just went through a process here around Christmas time. To maintain
my staff, we had to implore the hospital to increase their salaries. Starting
salaries at this institution will be around $19 an hour now. And prior to
that I could only offer a little over $16 an hour, so they got quite a boost,"
says Facik.
Media coverage of cytotechnology has played a huge role in increasing public
awareness. Among other things, the media has raised awareness of the impending
shortage of cytotechnologists.
"People were in a panic," says Facik. "First time this happened was in
1988, after the Wall Street Journal controversy. That was when a guy named
Walt Bogdanich went out and did an investigative story on a private laboratory...
and revealed a number of mistakes. The whole issue was sparked by a patient
who died. [It] shed kind of an ugly light on cytology in general. He won a
Pulitzer Prize for this article and it revealed problems in the Pap smear
industry."
Cytopathologists were enraged by the negativity of Bogdanich's story.
They thought it portrayed them as greedy and irresponsible in their dealings
with human life. However, Facik is ultimately pleased by the outcome. "It
raised public awareness of the importance of cytology," he says.
Facik knew for a long time that he would play a significant role in the
medical community. When he began college, he thought he'd become a physical
therapist.
"I'd looked at other careers and I was intrigued by this because I
always liked biology and I could see the importance of it. I went to school
in Syracuse and that was it! I wound up here as a student. It just happened
to be that it was a very popular, very renowned lab for cytology, run by a
very famous pathologist named Stanley Patten," says Facik.
"It provided opportunities for travel and teaching that I never would have
expected. I've been all over the place, teaching and lecturing. I've
been to Europe. I was invited to Hong Kong last fall to train Chinese pathologists,"
says Facik. He says there will continue to be a need for pathologists in poorer
countries around the world.
Cytotechnologists work at the risk of being taken to court if they make
a mistake, says Facik. The rewards, however, are worth the risk. "We
save lives. There's a risk there, but that risk should inspire people
to be good cytotechnologists."