Intermediate Level Conversations- Series 3- Lesson 6- Talking about Illness in English
In this lesson, we have 5 sample conversation about illness between a doctor and a patient/ attendant on five different medical issues:
- Fever and sore throat,
- Headache,
- Stomach ache,
- Cancer, and
- Glaucoma (an ailment of eye)
Whereas the first three conversations take place in a clinic, the last two take place in a hospital.
The three main characters – doctor, patient/ attendant, and support (reception, billing etc.) – in these conversations have been color-coded for ease of browsing. Furthermore, explanations and activities outside the conversation have been put in brackets so that you can easily follow what’s happening.
Previous Conversation Lesson
Talking About Healthy Lifestyle
Conversations about Illness
1. Conversation about fever and sore throat
Patient: Good morning doctor.
Doctor: Good morning. You look pale and your voice is out of tune.
Patient: Yes doctor. I’m running a temperature and have a sore throat.
Doctor: let me see.
(He touches the forehead to feel the temperature.)
Doctor: You’ve moderate fever.
(He then use a thermometer and looks at its reading)
Doctor: Not too high – 99.8.
(He then proceeds with measuring blood pressure.)
Doctor: Your blood pressure is fine.
(He then checks the throat.)
Doctor: It looks a bit scruffy. Not good.
Patient: Yes, it has been quite bad.
Doctor: Do you get sweating and shivering?
Patient: Not sweating, but I feel somewhat cold when I sit under a fan.
Doctor: OK. You’ve few symptoms of malaria. I would suggest you undergo a blood test. Nothing to worry about. In most cases, the test comes out to be negative.
(He then proceeds to write the prescription.)
Doctor: I’m prescribing three medicines and a syrup. The number of dots in front of each tells you how many times in the day you’ve to take them. For example, the two dots here mean you’ve to take the medicine twice in the day, once in the morning and once after dinner.
Doctor: Do you’ve any other questions?
Patient: No, doctor. Thank you.
2. Conversation about headache
Patient: Doctor, I’ve had a headache since yesterday evening.
Doctor: Have you taken any medicine so far?
Patient: no
Doctor: You’ve a running nose. Looks like your headache is a result of sinus infection, and not the regular one that results from anxiety and fatigue. Let me check.
(The doctor checks the patient thoroughly.)
Doctor: It’s quite clear that the infection in your sinus is the reason for your headache. I’ll prescribe an antibiotic to clear the infection and a pain reliever to relieve the pain.
3. Conversation about stomach ache
Patient: I’ve had a stomach ache and loose motions since last night. I also vomited few times in the night.
Doctor: What did you eat yesterday?
Patient: I ate some snacks at the roadside eatery. It’s likely a result of that.
Doctor: Likely you ate contaminated food. Because of diarrhea, you’ve lost plenty of body fluids. You need to be hydrated. Drink water regularly. Mix some Glucon-D powder or Electral in it. Fruit juice is fine too. Avoid caffeine, dairy products, and solid foods at least till evening. And get plenty of rest.
Patient: Any medicines, doctor.
Doctor: Yes, I’m prescribing some pills to control diarrhea.
Patient: Thank you, doctor.
4. Conversation with an oncologist on cancer
In this conversation, the patient’s family member (attendant) talks to the doctor.
Doctor: So, what brings you here?
Attendant: Doctor, my mother has been diagnosed with abnormal growth of cells in colon, which doctors so far have confirmed as a case of cancer.
Doctor: What tests have you conducted?
Attendant: On the advice of doctors in California, we conducted blood tests, CT scan, and biopsy. We’ve taken three opinions on the reports and all have opined colorectal cancer. Here are the reports.
(The doctor goes through the reports.)
Doctor: Yes, this looks cancerous. What we’ll do is admit him today itself and get few tests done. And let’s meet tomorrow morning when you’ve the reports of these tests.
Attendant: OK. Thank you.
Next day, they meet again
Doctor: The cancer is just one stage before it’ll spread to other parts. In this case, the best course of action is immediate surgery to remove the affected part followed by radiation therapy.
Attendant: How many days of hospitalization will be required?
Doctor: We can perform the surgery the day after tomorrow. Thereafter, we’ll keep the patient under observation for 4-5 days. Radiation therapy has become pretty standardized and therefore you can get it done in any tier-2 city, which will not only be convenient to you but also reduce your expense.
Attendant: And for how long will the patient have to undergo radiation therapy?
Doctor: One dose every two weeks for three months. You need to visit the hospital only on days you receive therapy. Once radiation therapy is done, you should consult an oncologist every three months in the beginning and every year later on to check for remission of cancerous cells.
Attendant: OK. I’ve heard radiation therapy has side effects.
Doctor: Yes, radiation therapy has side effects. It can lead to hair loss, nausea, and loss of appetite.
5. Conversation with an eye specialist in a hospital
This conversation involves not just the doctor, but also people conducting different tests and those at reception and billing desks in the hospital.
Support: Good morning sir. How may I help you?
Patient: Good morning. I had an appointment with the doctor at 9 AM.
Support: Have you registered with us earlier?
Patient: Yes.
Support: Please show me your registration card. Or I can search for your details through your mobile number.
Patient: That would be better. My mobile number is 654-887-9866.
(She searches for the patient’s past records on her computer.)
Support: OK, I’ve found your details. You last visited us in August 2023.
Patient: That’s right.
Support: You can pay the doctor consultation fee here.
Patient: Sure. Here is my card.
(She swipes the card and hands over the invoice to the patient.)
Support: Please take a seat, and feel free to help yourself with water, newspapers etc.
Patient: Thank you.
(After 15-odd minutes, the attendant calls the patient’s name, following which the patient proceeds to the doctor’s cabin.)
Patient: Good morning doctor.
Doctor: Good morning. How’re you doing today?
Patient: I’m fine. Thank you. How about you?
Doctor: I’m good. So what brings you here?
Patient: I’ve come for a regular checkup for a suspected case of glaucoma. I don’t have it, but few years back a doctor after examining my eye and knowing my family eye history advised me to undergo precautionary checkup once a year.
(He puts the past reports on the table. The doctor see them.)
Doctor: I see that your optic nerve is thicker than the normal. That’s probably the reason why you were asked to undergo precautionary tests every year. You can have the same two tests – visual field analysis and OCT – today and once you’ve the two reports, we can meet again in the afternoon.
Patient: Alright.
(The doctor scribbles the names of the two tests on his letterhead and pushes it across the table.)
Patient: Thank you, doctor.
(The patient leaves the doctor’s cabin and again approaches the reception desk.)
Patient: I saw the doctor. He has asked for these two tests.
(He pushes the prescription towards the billing lady.)
Support: OK. The two tests will cost you xxx and you’ll get the reports in around two hours. Is that fine?
Patient: That’s fine.
(He slips his card toward her. She swipes it again and hands over the invoice a second time.)
Support: Please be seated there. Someone will call you for the first test in few minutes.
Patient: Thank you.
(Over the next two hours, he undergoes the two tests and receives the reports. Thereafter, he meets the doctor again, this time with reports.)
Doctor: I hope you had a smooth experience going through those tests.
Patient: Yes, it was. And because I’ve taken these tests in the past too, I knew what was coming.
(The patient pushes the reports toward the doctor. The doctor look through the pages.)
Doctor: Your reports are absolutely fine. Since these reports haven’t shown anything suspect in so many years, I think you can now take these tests once in two years, and not once a year.
Patient: OK.
Doctor: Well, that puts the glaucoma thing to rest. Does your work involve working on laptop for long hours?
Patient: Yes.
Doctor: In case your eyes get tired quickly, I would recommend xxx. It’s an eye drop, which you can use 2-3 times in the day. Our eyes get dry when we look at the computer screen without blinking for long, a common reason for tiredness in eyes. This eye drop will lubricate your eyes.
Doctor: Do you’ve any other questions?
Patient: Yes. I see few thin, black, wavy structures floating in front of my eyes and they don’t disappear even when I close my eyes. What are they? Are they harmful?
Doctor: They’re called floaters, and most people develop them to different extent as they age. They’re not harmful.
Next Conversation Lesson
Talking About Stress in English
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