I spent 8 weeks in Cusco, Peru working at a women’s health clinic called CerviCusco. The clinic was located in a cozy neighborhood about 30 minutes away from downtown, and I lived in a dorm-style apartment complex above the clinic with other American medical and physician assistant student volunteers. Most of my days were spent collecting data for my research project which focused on understanding Peruvian women’s attitudes and knowledge about breast cancer and screening practices through a survey-based study. Our target population was women ages 40+, and we usually went into local marketplaces to chat with the women working and administered surveys. This was my first time working extensively on a population-based survey study, and I really enjoyed the process. I would sit one-on-one with the women and walk through each survey question with them. Afterwards, I answered any questions they had about breast cancer or other health concerns, and I felt privileged that many of them felt comfortable sharing intimate details about their lives. I listened intently to stories about abortion, relatives with breast cancer, and difficulties with lactation or fertility, and I did my best to offer support and address any of their health concerns with the fund of knowledge I acquired during my first year at Weill Cornell (luckily, we had just finished our reproduction unit so the information was still fresh!).
Talking to these women and analyzing our survey results helped me learn a lot more about Peruvian society. I found that the same issues that plague the US healthcare system were also present in the Peruvian system. The top reason that women had never undergone mammography was that it was too expensive. Many of the women were uninsured since they were not formally employed, and earned less than 1000 soles (about $300 USD) a year. Although mammography is free for insured women over age 40, an out-of-pocket payment could set them back 200 soles, or about 1/5th of their annual paycheck. This is simply unfeasible, even for the most health-conscious individual. There was good news, however! Nearly 100% of the women we surveyed had children and breastfed them, which not only is protective for the baby but also lowers the risk of breast cancer for the mother. I was happy to see how much more acceptable it was to breastfeed in public than it is in the US, and it was common to have mothers nursing on public transportation or on the street.
Aside from working on my research project, much of my free time was spent taking advantage of all the nature the Cusco region had to offer. I got a membership to the local climbing gym and quickly befriended the friendly staff and local climbers. We did trips together to the mountains outside of the city, and I also did some hiking on my own. When I wasn’t scaling up a cliff, I liked trying new restaurants and seeing where I could get the best menu del día, a three-course meal with an included drink, for the cheapest price. I think the best lunch menu I got was for 5 soles ($1.50 USD) which made my stomach and wallet very happy. All this talk about food makes me miss the ceviche and roast chicken over there… Cusco, ya te extraño mi linda ciudad! Pronto volveré